THE  LIFE  AND  WORK 

OF 

SIR  WILLIAM  VAN  HORNE 


THE  LIFE  AND  WORK 

OF 

SIR  WILLIAM  VAN  HORNE 


BY 


WALTER  VAUGHAN 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 
PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1920 


Copyright,  1920,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


PREFACE 

Whoever  heard  Sir  William  Van  Home  tell  his  vivid 
stories  and  remembers  the  romantic  glamour  which  he 
threw  upon  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way will  always  regret  that  he  did  not  write  his  auto- 
biography. He  was  often  urged  to  write  the  history 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  as  often  promised  to  do  so. 
In  the  summer  of  1914  he  arranged  with  Miss  Kath- 
erine  Hughes,  the  biographer  of  Father  Lacombe,  to 
collaborate  with  him  in  the  work.  The  Great  War 
intervened,  and  he  died  in  1915  without  having  made  a 
beginning.  His  son  and  daughter,  Mr.  Richard  Bene- 
dict Van  Home  and  Miss  Adaline  Van  Home,  continued 
the  arrangement  with  Miss  Hughes,  with  the  object, 
however,  of  having  her  prepare  a  biography  of  their 
father.  Miss  Hughes  thereupon  industriously  gathered 
material,  which  she  put  together  loosely  in  the  form  of 
a  narrative.  On  my  return  from  Europe  last  summer 
Mr.  Van  Home  gave  me  Miss  Hughes's  manuscript  and 
asked  me  to  write  his  father's  life.  Inasmuch  as  I  had 
made  definite  plans  to  spend  the  winter  in  California, 
where  letters  and  other  original  sources  would  be  inac- 
cessible to  me,  the  proposal  involved  considerable  diffi- 
culties ;  without  Miss  Hughes's  material  it  would,  in  the 
circumstances,  have  been  impossible.  I  felt,  however, 
that  some  personal  knowledge  of  Van  Home  and  his 
work  during  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  seven  of 
which  were  spent  by  me  in  the  service  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  gave  me  one  qualification  for  the  task,  and  ulti- 


VI 


PREFACE 


mately  I  agreed  to  undertake  it,  provided  I  was  alto- 
gether unfettered  in  the  choice  of  material  and  the  man- 
ner of  its  presentation,  and  in  criticism.  This  condi- 
tion was  conceded  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Much  of  this  volume,  then,  is  frankly  based  on  Miss 
Hughes's  material,  and  wherever  it  has  been  possible  I 
have  used  and  adapted  her  rough  narrative.  If,  there- 
fore, these  pages  be  deemed  to  have  any  merit,  a  large 
share  of  it  must  be  credited  to  Miss  Hughes.  For  their 
demerits  I  am  alone  to  blame.  Per  contra,  any  writer 
who  has  had  to  rely  to  a  large  extent  on  material  selected 
by  another  will  appreciate  one  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  this  book  has  been  written. 

I  wished  to  include  some  account  of  Van  Home's  im- 
pressions of  his  earlier  visits  to  England  and  the  great 
art  centres  of  Europe,  but  no  records  are  available.  A 
man  who  travels  forty  or  fifty  thousand  miles  a  year 
and  enjoys  unlimited  franking  privileges  over  cable  and 
telegraph  lines  is  not  apt  to  devote  much  time  to  letter- 
writing. 

Van  Home  once  protested  against  "unauthorized" 
biographies  because  they  "suggest  that  they  have  been 
cooked,  pruned,  and  glossed  over  to  suit  somebody,  and 
therefore  lose  their  value."  In  his  opinion  a  biography 
should  be  "frank,  square-toed,  and  pungent."  Again, 
he  exhorted  a  biographer  of  his  friend  Lord  Strathcona 
to  make  his  book  "a  real  one — a  strong,  fearless,  flat- 
footed,  straightforward  work."  This  life  of  himself 
has,  at  any  rate,  been  written  with  fearlessness  and  sin- 
cerity. 

Miss  Van  Home  and  her  brother  have  cordially  given 
me  every  assistance  for  which  I  have  asked.  I  am  under 
a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  R.  B.  Angus  and  Lord 
Shaughnessy  for  their  kindness  in  reading  the  chapters 


PREFACE  vii 

covering  Van  Home's  work  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  and 
for  valuable  suggestions  which  I  have  gladly  adopted. 
I  am  under  the  like  obligation  to  Mr.  Howard  Mans- 
field, the  chief  counsel,  and  Mr.  H.  C.  Lakin,  the  Presi- 
dent, of  the  Cuba  Company,  for  reading  the  chapters 
covering  Van  Home's  work  in  Cuba.  I  am  also  specially 
indebted  to  Mr.  E.  W.  Beatty,  the  President  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  for  the  loan  of  indispensable  reports 
and  documents,  and  to  Mrs.  Frances  B.  Linn,  the  librar- 
ian of  the  Santa  Barbara  Public  Library,  for  her  cour- 
tesy in  obtaining  for  me  several  books  of  reference  which 
were  not  on  her  shelves.  To  other  kind  friends  who 
have  helped  me,  I  offer  my  grateful  thanks. 

W.  VAUGHAN. 
31  May,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     1843-51.     ANCESTRY.     BIRTH    AND    CHILD- 
HOOD      3 

II  1854-60.  SCHOOLDAYS.  TELEGRAPHY.  A 
PANORAMA.  FOSSILS  AND  GEOLOGY.  His 
FIRST  POST.  DISMISSAL.  THE  MICHIGAN 
CENTRAL.  THE  AGASSIZ  CLUB  .  .  .14 

III  1861-67.     ENLISTMENT.     THE  CHICAGO  AND 

ALTON.     AGASSIZ.     DRAWING.     MARRIAGE    25 

IV  1868-74.     PROMOTION.     THE  CHICAGO  FIRE. 

THE  ST.  Louis,  KANSAS  CITY  AND  NORTH- 
ERN. RAILWAYMEN'S  CLUBS.  A  STRIKE.  A 
PRACTICAL  JOKE.  NURSING  ....  32 

V  1874-79.  THE  SOUTHERN  MINNESOTA.  ES- 
PRIT DE  CORPS.  FLOODS.  GRASSHOPPERS 
AND  PRAYERS.  PUTTING  PLACES  ON  THE 
MAP 41 

VI  1879-81.  THE  CHICAGO  AND  ALTON.  PRES- 
IDENT HAYES.  THE  CHICAGO,  MILWAUKEE 
AND  ST.  PAUL.  ENGINES  AND  CARS.  STA- 
TION DESIGNS.  A  RAILWAY  FIGHT.  JAMES 
J.  HILL.  FOSSILS  AND  HORTICULTURE  .  '50 

VII  1881.  THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC.  ITS  INCEP- 
TION. DONALD  A.  SMITH,  J.  J.  HILL, 
GEORGE  STEPHEN,  R.  B.  ANGUS.  THE 
SYNDICATE.  THE  CHARTER  ....  64 

VIII  1882.  WINNIPEG.  THE  LAKE  SUPERIOR  SEC- 
TION. HILL'S  WITHDRAWAL.  KICKING 
HORSE  PASS.  MAJOR  ROGERS.  T.  G. 
SHAUGHNESSY.  ORGANIZATION  AND  CON- 
STRUCTION. VAN  HORNE'S  DRIVING  FORCE. 
REMOVAL  TO  MONTREAL 76 

ix 


x  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IX  1883.  LAKE  SUPERIOR  SECTION.  INDIANS 
ON  THE  PRAIRIES.  CHIEF  CROWFOOT  AND 
PERE  LACOMBE.  THE  MOUNTAIN  SECTION. 
EASTERN  EXTENSIONS  AND  THE  GRAND 
TRUNK.  A  GOVERNMENT  LOAN  .  .  .91 

X  1884.  TOURS  OF  INSPECTION.  VANCOUVER. 
PHYSICAL  COURAGE.  FINANCIAL  DIFFI- 
CULTIES. SIR  JOHN  MACDONALD  .  .  .  107 

XI  1885.  THE  SECOND  RIEL  REBELLION.  DES- 
PERATE FINANCIAL  PLIGHT.  DIFFICULTIES 
AT  OTTAWA.  ANOTHER  GOVERNMENT 
LOAN.  THE  LAST  SPIKE.  SILVER 
HEIGHTS.  THE  FIRST  THROUGH  TRAIN  .  121 

XII  1885-86.  CREATING  TRAFFIC.  SLEEPING- 
CARS.  POLITENESS.  EXTENSIONS.  SNOW- 
SHEDS.  PLACES  ON  THE  MAP.  THE  VAN 
HORNE  RANGE.  PACIFIC  STEAMSHIPS  .  137 

XIII  1887-88.     THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CHICAGO, 

MILWAUKEE  &  ST.  PAUL.  CAPITALIZING 
SCENERY.  MOUNTAIN  HOTELS.  FIGHT 
WITH  MANITOBA  GOVERNMENT.  THE  ON- 
DERDONK  SECTION 148 

XIV  1888-90.     APPOINTED     PRESIDENT.     T.     G. 

SHAUGHNESSY.  GEORGE  M.  CLARK.  THE 
GRAND  TRUNK.  U.  S.  BONDING  PRIVI- 
LEGES. THE  "Soo"  AND  SOUTH  SHORE 
LINES.  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENTS  .  .  .162 

XV  1882-90.  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE.  JAPANESE 
POTTERY.  PAINTING.  GAMES.  MIND- 
READING.  JIMMY  FRENCH 177 

XVI  1891.  A  GENERAL  ELECTION.  MANIFESTO 
AGAINST  RECIPROCITY  WITH  U.  S.  OFFER 
OF  KNIGHTHOOD.  THE  CHATEAU  FRON- 
TENAC.  THE  FIRST  ROUND-THE-WORLD 
TOUR  ...  1 88 


Contents 


XI 


CHAPTER 

XVII 


XVIII 


XIX 


XX 


XXI 


KXXII 


XXIII 


XXIV 


PAGE 

1892.  ENCOURAGING  FARMERS  AND  RAISING 
THE    PRICE    OF    WHEAT.     THE    GRAND 
TRUNK  SEEKS  AN  ALLIANCE.     THE  INTER- 
COLONIAL AND  ATLANTIC  STEAMSHIP  SERV- 
ICE.     MOUNTSTEPHEN    RESIGNS         .       .       .    2OI 

1893.  COMMERCIAL  DEPRESSION.    STRENGTH- 
ENING THE  COMPANY'S  FINANCIAL  ORGAN- 
IZATION.     J.    J.    HlLL    AND    THE    DULUTH 


AND  WINNIPEG  RAILWAY 


217 


1893-96.  THE  DULUTH  AND  WINNIPEG. 
BUSINESS  PARALYSIS.  FLOODS  OF  THE 
FRASER.  APPOINTED  A  K.C.M.G.  MILI- 
TARY MAPS.  A  GENERAL  ELECTION.  THE 
MANITOBA  FREE  PRESS 233 

1896-99.  THE  Loss  OF  THE  DULUTH  AND 
WINNIPEG.  A  BITTER  BLOW.  ATLANTIC 
STEAMSHIP  SERVICE.  RESIGNS  PRESIDENCY 
OF  C.  P.  R.  A  HOLIDAY  IN  CALIFORNIA 


1890—1900.    PRIVATE  INTERESTS.   THE  WIND- 
SOR SALT  Co.     THE  LAURENTIDE  PULP  Co. 

COVENHOVEN.      JAPANESE     POTTERY.      ART 

COLLECTIONS.     PAINTINGS.  *~CUBA 


251 


262 


1900-02.  CUBA  AND  THE  CUBA  COMPANY. 
ORGANIZATION.  T.  F.  RYAN.  RAILWAY 
CONSTRUCTION.  THE  RIGHT  OF  WAY.  A 
GENERAL  RAILWAY  LAW.  GENERAL  LEON- 
ARD WOOD.  CELEBRATION  AT  CAMAGUEY. 
OPENING  OF  RAILWAY 276 

1903-05.  HARD  TIMES  IN  CUBA.  A  GOV- 
ERNMENT LOAN.  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  PHIL- 
IPPINES. THE  GUATEMALA  RAILWAY. 
DEATH  OF  MARY  VAN  HORNE  ....  297 

1905-08.  INSURRECTIONS  IN  CUBA  AND  GUA- 
TEMALA. A  VISIT  TO  GUATEMALA.  J.  J. 
HILL  AGAIN.  THE  DOMINION  STEEL  AND 
COAL  COMPANIES.  STOCK-BREEDING  .  .  312 


Xll 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXV  1907-10.  A  STOCK-MARKET  PANIC  AND 
SPANISH-AMERICAN  INVESTMENTS.  GEOR- 
GIAN BAY  CANAL.  EQUITABLE  LIFE  AS- 
SURANCE SOCIETY.  BIRTH  OF  GRANDSON. 
A  CIRCUS  PARTY.  RESIGNS  CHAIRMANSHIP 
OF  C.  P.  R 326 

XXVI  1910-11.  LIFE  IN  CUBA.  SARDINE  PLANT. 
TOWN-PLANNING.  VIEWS  ON  IMPERIAL- 
ISM. RECIPROCITY  AND  GENERAL  ELECTION 
IN  CANADA 338 

XXVII  1912-14.  FESTIVAL  AT  JOLIET.  A  WHIMSI- 
CAL LETTER.  HUMBUG.  THE  KEY  TO 
SUCCESS.  ILLNESS.  READING.  CONVALES- 
CENCE. LAST  VISIT  TO  EUROPE  .  .  .352 

XXVIII  1914-15.  THE  GREAT  WAR.  CHAIRMANSHIP 
OF  NATIONAL  COMMISSION.  SECOND  ILL- 
NESS. DEATH.  JOHN  E.  LOGAN'S  VERSES  364 

XXIX  PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  PORTRAITS. 
FRIENDS.  G.  T.  BLACKSTOCK'S  APPRECIA- 
TION   370 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 383 

INDEX 385 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Sir  William  C.  Van  Home,  K.C.M.G.  .      .      .       Frontispiece 
(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 


TACINO 
PAGE 


Lady  Van  Home 36 

(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 

Sir  William  Van  Home  at  the  age  of  39 84 

(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 

Driving  the  Last  Spike 132 

(After  a  photograph  by  Ross,  Calgary) 

Moonlight  on  the  St.  Croix  River 1 80 

(A  painting  by  Sir  William  Van  Home) 

The  Birch 180 

(A  painting  by  Sir  William  Van  Home) 

"Covenhoven" 268 

(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 

Frieze  at  Covenhoven  Painted  by  Sir  William  Van  Home  340 

The  Dining-Room  in  the  Montreal  House 372 

(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 

Corner  of  Sir  William  Van  Home's  Studio     ....   372 
(After  a  photograph  by  Notman,  Montreal) 

MAPS 

Railways  of  Canada,  1880,  together  with  Sand  ford  Flem- 
ing's route  to  Bute  Inlet  and  Port  Moody     .      .      .  260 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  1898 260 


xfii 


THE  LIFE  AND  WORK  OF 
SIR   WILLIAM    VAN    HORNE 


THE  LIFE  AND  WORK  OF 
SIR  WILLIAM   VAN    HORNE 

CHAPTER  I 

1843-51.      ANCESTRY.      BIRTH    AND   CHILDHOOD. 

WILLIAM  CORNELIUS  VAN  HORNE  was 
born  on  February  3,  1843,  at  Chelsea,  Will 
County,  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Seventy  years  afterwards,  in  a  bantering  letter  to  a 
distant  connection  who  had  written  him  about  their 
common  genealogical  tree,  he  said,  "I  have  been  too  busy 
all  my  life  to  cast  a  thought  so  far  back  as  my  grand- 
father." Yet,  while  essentially  democratic  and  emi- 
nently free  from  the  weakness  of  pride  in  anything  so 
entirely  beyond  his  own  control  as  the  stock  from  which 
he  sprang,  there  can  be  no  question  that,  at  any  rate  in 
his  maturer  years,  he  was  conscious  of  his  sturdy  Dutch 
ancestry.  On  the  paternal  side  his  ancestors  had  inva- 
riably married  women  of  that  race,  while  his  mother 
was  born  of  German  and  French  parents.  It  may  not 
be  far  wrong,  therefore,  to  ascribe  to  his  heritage  of 
descent  something  of  the  elements  which  combined  to 
differentiate  him  from  the  other  men  of  large  capacity 
and  force  who,  in  the  era  of  expansion  which  followed 
the  Civil  War,  rose  to  create  and  consolidate  the  great 
railways  which  form  the  arterial  system  of  the  indus- 
trial life  of  the  North-American  continent.  That  herit- 
age helps  to  explain  how  he,  in,  so  many  ways  a  typical 

3 


4       The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Western  American,  was  gifted  with  a  power  of  detach- 
ment, remarkable  among  his  contemporaries,  which 
enabled  him  to  ally  himself  with  the  fortunes  of  Canada 
as  enthusiastically  as  he  could  possibly  have  allied  him- 
self with  the  fortunes  of  his  native  state ;  which  enabled 
him  to  appreciate  with  a  most  intense  sympathy  the  char- 
acter and  mode  of  thought  of  peoples  so  un-American  as 
the  people  of  Cuba  and  the  people  of  Japan ;  and  which 
enabled  him  to  find  impartial  delight  in  the  most  diverse 
and  exotic  forms  of  art  and  craft. 

About  the  year  1635,  when  the  Dutch  Republic  was  in 
the  heyday  of  its  maritime  power,  Jan  Cornelissen  Van 
Home  adventured  from  the  shores  of  Zuyder  Zee  to 
settle  in  that  New  Amsterdam  which  was  rising  on  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  and  to  found  one  of  the  Dutch 
families  that  have  played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the 
industrial  and  political  development  of  the  North-Amer- 
ican Colonies  and  the  United  States.  Already  a  man  of 
substance  in  receipt  of  an  annual  income  from  the 
Netherlands,  he  acquired  houses  and  land,  purchasing 
in  1656  from  Jacob  Steendam,  America's  first  poet,  a 
house  in  Hoogh  Straat  which  was  one  of  the  earliest 
dwelling-houses  erected  in  the  settlement  and  occu- 
pied the  site  on  which  25  Stone  Street  now  stands. 
Interested  in  public  affairs,  he  was  one  of  the  signatories 
to  the  Remonstrance  addressed,  in  1664,  to  the  Directors 
of  New  Netherlands,  and  counselled  the  surrender  of 
the  colony  to  the  English  forces  when  succour  from 
the  States-General  failed  to  arrive. 

One  of  Jan  Cornelissen  Van  Home's  grandsons, 
Abraham,  became  a  leading  citizen  of  New  York,  resid- 
ing in  Wall  Street,  with  his  mills  and  store-houses 
nearby,  and  acquiring  a  grant  of  fifteen  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  the  Mohawk  Valley.  He  filled  "nearly  every 


Ancestry  5 

office  in  tne  gift  of  the  people,"  and  one  of  his  daughters 
was  married  to  Burnet,  the  English  governor  of  the 
colony,  whose  popularity  was  ascribed  by  Mrs.  Van 
Rensselaer,  in  "Goede  Vrouw  of  Mana-ha-ta,"  to  "his 
alliance  with  one  of  the  leading  Dutch  families,"  where- 
by Burnet  "began  his  rule  in  the  colony  with  more 
friends  and  adherents  than  any  English  governor  had 
ever  obtained." 

The  Wall  Street  merchant,  who  had  eleven  children, 
possessed  sufficient  wealth  to  enable  a  son  of  the  same 
name  to  acquire  an  estate  in  New  Jersey  about  1720. 
In  1725  he  built  the  White  House,  which  is  still  occupied 
by  a  member  of  the  family,  and  from  which  the  town  of 
Whitehouse,  N.  J.,  took  its  name.  To  this  country  man- 
sion of  Dutch  architecture,  with  a  large  hall  decorated 
by  an  Italian  artist,  Abraham  Van  Home  the  younger 
brought  his  wife  Antia  Covenhoven,  a  descendant  of 
Wolfert  Gerritson  Covenhoven,  who  had  emigrated 
from  Amerspoort  to  New  Amsterdam  in  1630.  Follow- 
ing in  the  steps  of  his  forefathers,  Abraham  the  younger 
added  to  his  landed  possessions  and  erected  sawmills  on 
his  farms.  His  will,  to  which  Cornelius  Vanderbilt 
affixed  his  mark  as  witness,  reflects  a  fine  and  patriarchal 
Dutch  care  of  all  his  household.  Bequeathing  a  negro 
slave  as  maid  to  each  of  his  daughters,  he  left  all  his 
other  slaves  to  his  wife;  and  "after  her  death,  or  after 
said  negroes  come  to  be  past  labour,  they  then  shall  be 
maintained  by  my  son  Abraham  Van  Home,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  for  I  positively  order  that  they  shall  not 
be  sold  to  any  person  whatsoever."  The  son  who  was 
the  chief  beneficiary  of  this  will  married  Gertrude 
Wycoff  in  1761,  and  was  the  father  of  Abraham  the 
fourth,  who  served  as  a  youth,  with  the  rank  of  Com- 
missary, in  the  forces  of  Washington. 


6      The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Several  Van  Homes  were  already  in  the  field  on  the 
revolutionary  side,  or  were  otherwise  actively  engaged 
in  the  overthrow  of  British  rule.  At  one  period  of 
the  war  Washington  resided  in  the  house  of  a  cousin, 
John  Van  Home,  in  New  Jersey.  Another  cousin, 
Philip,  who  had  filled  the  position  of  a  judge  and 
carried  on  business  as  a  wholesale  merchant  in  New 
York,  was  forced  by  his  republican  proclivities  to  retire 
to  his  country  place  at  Middlebrook,  N.  J.,  which,  from 
the  lavish  hospitality  of  its  owner,  was  known  as  Con- 
vivial Hall.  There  he  entertained  impartially  Whig  and 
Tory,  rebel  and  royalist.  At  one  time  the  Hall  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  Jacobite  Earl  of  Stirling;  at  another, 
it  sheltered  Major  "Light  Horse  Harry"  Lee  and  his 
officers;  and  Philip's  "well-bred  and  handsome  daugh- 
ters were  the  much  admired  toasts  of  both  armies." 

A  hospitality  that  was  extended  with  cordiality  to 
Washington's  enemies  as  well  as  to  his  supporters,  to  the 
Earl  of  Cornwallis  and  to  the  Marquis  of  Chastellux, 
brought  Philip  under  suspicion.  Washington  ordered 
his  arrest,  but  he  was  released  on  parole  and  allowed  to 
remain  at  the  Hall,  where  "he  and  his  bright-eyed  girls 
continued  to  welcome  friend  and  foe  alike,  and,  it  is  said, 
were  often  able  to  mitigate  the  ferocities  of  war." 

The  social  position  of  the  Van  Home  families  dur- 
ing revolutionary  times  as  people  of  good-breeding  and 
substantial  fortune  was  well  assured.  Writing  at  the 
close  of  the  war  to  her  sister  from  New  York,  Rebecca 
Franks  of  Philadelphia,  who  afterwards  became  Lady 
Johnston,  said  of  the  daughters  of  David  Van  Home, 
yet  another  cousin  of  Abraham  IV:  "By  the  bye,  few 
ladies  here  know  how  to  entertain  company  in  their  own 
houses  unless  they  introduce  the  card-table.  Except  the 
Van  Homes  who  are  remarkable  for  their  good  sense 


The  "Old  Dominie"  7 

and  ease  .  .  .  this  family  which,  remember,  again  I 
say  are  excepted  in  every  particular." 

While  the  men  of  the  family  usually  chose  wives  of 
Dutch  blood,  the  women  frequently  married  men  of 
other  races  and  established  connections  with  many  out- 
standing American  families;  among  others,  with  the 
Bayards,  Schuylers,  and  Ten  Eycks. 

Upon  his  release  from  military  service  through  the 
final  victory  of  Washington's  armies,  the  youthful  com- 
missary, Abraham,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
these  pages,  completed  his  education  at  King's  College, 
New  York,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  grad- 
uates. Marrying,  in  1785,  Anna  Covenhoven,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Cornelius  Covenhoven  of  Corroway  Keyport,  N. 
J.,  and  descended,  like  his  grandmother,  from  Wolfert 
Gerritson  Covenhoven,  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  and  became  pastor  of  the 
Dutch  Church  at  Caughnawaga  (now  Fonda),  New 
York.  He  remained  the  incumbent  of  that  office  for  a 
period  of  thirty-eight  years,  lived  a  life  of  great  useful- 
ness, and  rendered  conspicuous  service  to  the  communi- 
ties which  were  growing  up  in  the  central  portion  of 
the  state.  The  area  of  his  ministry  was  very  exten- 
sive, his  salary  and  his  fees  pitiably  small,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  nine  children  came  to  crowd  his  hearth. 
But  the  goodly  heritage  he  had  received  from  his  father, 
supplemented  by  a  legacy  of  $30,000  to  his  wife  from  her 
father,  the  "King  of  Corroway,"  enabled  him  not  only 
to  maintain  himself  and  his  family  in  comfort,  but  also 
to  support  in  his  establishment  no  less  than  twenty 
slaves  and  to  offer  the  abundant  hospitality  which  had 
been  traditional  as  well  in  the  family  of  the  Covenhovens 
as  in  his  own.  He  was  revered  as  a  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel and  renowned  throughout  the  state  as  a  raconteur 


8       The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  a  delightful  host  and  companion;  and  his  public 
spirit  and  his  private  philanthropy  won  him  the  esteem 
and  the  love  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  By 
the  people  he  was  affectionately  called  "the  Dominie," 
and,  as  his  years  increased,  "the  old  Dominie."  Hav- 
ing during  his  pastorate  at  Caughnawaga  married 
nearly  fifteen  hundred  couples  and  baptized  some  twenty- 
three  hundred  children,  this  "high-minded,  virtuous, 
benevolent,  and  amiable  man"  died  there  in  1840. 

Of  his  four  sons,  all  of  whom  were  educated  at  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  "the  Dominie"  entertained  high 
hopes  that  Cornelius  Covenhoven  Van  Home,  the  father 
of  Sir  William  Van  Home,  would  enter  the  ministry. 
But  the  boy,  who  was  more  distinguished  at  college  for 
his  jokes,  his  strong  will,  and  his  quick  intelligence  than 
for  his  piety,  had  other  aims.  Marrying,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Veeder,  he  finally 
determined  to  study  law.  The  atmosphere  of  Union 
College,  which  attracted  a  large  number  of  students 
from  the  southern  states,  had  been  strongly  Democratic, 
and  Cornelius,  having  begun  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, quickly  associated  himself  with  the  Democratic 
party  in  New  York  State  and  secured  the  warm  friend- 
ship of  Martin  Van  Buren,  another  young  lawyer  of 
Dutch  blood,  who  was  shortly  to  become  the  First  Citizen 
of  the  Republic.  His  professional  and  political  future 
seemed  well  assured  when,  in  1832,  he  was  moved  by 
the  pioneering  instinct  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  West. 
Accompanied  by  his  wife  and  children  and  followed  by 
the  tender  solicitude  of  "the  old  Dominie,"  he  set  forth 
with  his  emigrant's  wagon,  and,  after  undergoing  the 
hardships  and  trials  inseparable  from  such  a  journey, 
found  a  resting  place  near  Chelsea,  Illinois. 

The  early  years  of  his  life  in  the  West  were  clouded 


Cornelius  Covenhoven  Van  Home  9 

with  misfortunes.  His  wife  and  two  children  died.  His 
house  and  barn  and  his  law  books  were  burned  in  his 
absence.  But  with  the  aid  of  a  more  prosperous  brother 
he  was  enabled  to  rebuild  his  home  and  eventually  to 
purchase  from  the  State  a  homestead  of  three  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  at  Chelsea  in  the  Illinois  Valley,  along- 
side the  old  Oregon  Trail.  Thither,  in  1842,  when  his 
surviving  children  were  provided  for,  he  brought  his 
second  wife,  Mary  Minier  Richards.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  a  South  German  with  an  anglicized  name, 
who  had  emigrated  to  America  when  a  mere  lad,  served 
with  the  revolutionary  forces,  and  married  Margaret 
Minier,  a  Pennsylvania  girl  of  French  origin. 

The  home  to  which  Cornelius  Van  Home  brought  his 
second  wife  was  a  spacious  log-house  covered  with 
sawn  timber,  lying  with  its  stable  and  outbuildings  well 
back  from  the  Trail  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  sheltered  by 
a  fine  growth  of  trees.  A  sawmill  stood  down  in  the 
valley  on  the  bank  of  Hickory  Creek.  But  the  mill  was 
seldom  in  operation  and  the  land  was  not  extensively 
cultivated,  for  Cornelius  was  a  farmer  neither  by  in- 
stinct nor  by  training.  He  was  a  lawyer,  and  while  he 
waited  for  a  clientele  to  grow  up  about  him  he  eked  out 
a  livelihood  by  dabbling  in  farming  and  milling. 
Through  his  political  influence  he  was  appointed  the  first 
justice  of  the  peace  in  his  district,  the  first  recorder  of 
the  county,  and  the  first  postmaster  of  Chelsea.  From 
time  to  time  he  would  ride  to  the  court-house  at  the  state 
capital  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away  to  transact 
legal  business  concerning  claims  and  land-titles,  and, 
perchance,  to  discuss  politics  with  his  fellow-lawyers, 
among  whom  were  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  Doug- 
las. 

It  was  in  such  a  home  and  in  such  circumstances  that 


IO     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

William  Cornelius  Van  Home  was  born,  the  first  of 
five  children  of  his  father's  second  marriage.  In  the 
spacious,  uncrowded  Illinois  valley  the  child  spent  his 
first  eight  years  in  play,  in  such  work  in  the  garden  as 
his  small  hands  could  do,  and  in  exploring  the  wonders 
of  the  woods  and  the  fields.  In  this  fashion  was  uncon- 
sciously laid  the  foundation  of  that  knowledge  of  the 
earth,  its  f  ruitf ulness,  and  its  mysteries,  to  which  he  was 
to  have  frequent  recourse  in  after-life.  There  was 
neither  church  nor  school  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home. 
Remote  from  towns  and  stores  and  poor  withal,  he  had 
no  playthings  except  the  pebbles  in  the  creek,  with  which 
he  loaded  his  pockets.  One  day,  when  about  three  years 
old,  he  found  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  a  shiny  black  pebble 
which  he  joyfully  added  to  his  treasures.  But  before 
he  reached  home  his  pebble  had  dried  and  had  become  a 
dull  grey.  Not  even  a  resourceful  and  sympathetic 
mother  could  change  that.  She  could,  however,  do  bet- 
ter, for  she  showed  him  that  his  pebble  was  slate,  and 
would  make  marks  on  a  school-slate  which  she  produced. 
Another  world  was  now  to  open  to  the  child.  He 
scratched  the  poor  school-slate  at  every  opportunity — 
aimlessly  at  first — until  he  was  induced  to  "draw  some- 
thing." He  was  soon  able  to  make  crude  pictures  of 
children,  horses,  and  dogs.  But,  alas,  the  soft  slate  came 
to  an  end,  and  he  could  not  replace  it.  He  searched  the 
little  creek  clear  up  to  its  source,  but  while  he  found 
more  remarkable  stones  than  any  he  had  ever  seen  before 
and  added  greatly  to  his  store  of  pebbles,  he  could  find 
no  second  piece  of  slate.  Coming  at  last  to  his  father's 
sawmill,  he  told  his  small  woes  to  the  man  he  found 
working  there,  who  fashioned  a  piece  of  coarse  lead- 
pipe  to  a  point  and  sent  the  boy  home  happy.  The 


Early  Days  at  Joliet  1 1 

lead,  however,  had  no  affinity  with  a  slate,  and  the  boy 
turned  to  the  whitewashed  walls  of  the  house  to  make 
his  pictures,  encouraged  by  his  mother,  who  her- 
self had  an  undeveloped  gift  for  drawing  and  who 
made  a  sympathetic  critic  of  her  little  son's  laboured 
efforts.  This  led  to  pencils  and  chalks  being  brought 
by  his  father  from  Joliet,  and  before  long  the  walls  of 
the  house,  as  high  as  the  boy's  small  arm  could  reach, 
were  covered  with  drawings. 

In  1851  Cornelius  Van  Home,  having  sold  the  home- 
stead at  Chelsea,  moved  his  family  to  Joliet,  a  flourish- 
ing town  of  some  two  thousand  people.  A  court-house 
had  been  added  to  its  church,  its  school,  and  its  shops, 
and  it  was  receiving  a  vigorous  impetus  through  the 
coming  of  the  first  railway  to  cross  its  limits.  The 
new  home  was  a  pleasant  house  with  large  grounds 
on  the  corner  of  Clinton  and  Chicago  Streets,  where 
the  opera-house  of  Joliet  now  stands.  Being  "a  man 
of  liberal  education,  great  shrewdness,  abundant  self- 
esteem,  and  tenacity  of  purpose,"  the  newcomer  quickly 
made  his  influence  felt  in  the  growing  community. 
When,  in  1852,  Joliet  received  its  city  charter,  the  citi- 
zens elected  him  as  their  first  mayor. 

In  the  same  year  the  young  William,  who  was  attend- 
ing the  town's  one  school,  was  announced  as  a  partici- 
pant in  the  school  exhibition  or  closing  exercises.  The 
second  item  of  the  programme  was  an  "Address  by 
Master  Van  Home."  Garbed  as  an  Indian  and  brand- 
ishing a  wooden  spear,  Master  Van  Home  made  a  satis- 
factory first  appearance.  Every  Sunday  he  and  his 
brother  accompanied  their  mother  to  the  Universalist 
Church;  William  forsaking  the  Universalist  for  the 
Methodist  Sunday  School  when  he  discovered  that  the 


12     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

latter  had  the  better  books.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  was 
reading  every  book  that  came  his  way,  and  both  in  and 
out-of-doors  was  absorbing  knowledge  as  a  sponge  ab- 
sorbs water.  As  soon  as  he  and  his  pebbles  had  been 
moved  into  Joliet,  he  had  begun  to  explore  the  town  and 
its  environs,  with  their  park-like  woods  on  the  banks  of 
the  Des  Plaines,  with  the  same  eager  curiosity  as  he  had 
displayed  in  the  little  valley  of  Chelsea.  Conscious  of 
the  charm  of  his  new  playground,  the  boy  revelled  in  his 
new  opportunities  for  collecting  rock-specimens,  which, 
from  the  finding  of  the  piece  of  slate  in  the  creek  at  his 
old  home,  had  become  his  boyish  passion.  One  day, 
observing  peculiar  markings  on  a  bit  of  rock-surface, 
he  hammered  it  out  with  a  stone.  Breaking  off  the  sur- 
rounding edges,  he  found  a  well  defined  and  symmetrical 
figure  which  he  called  aa  worm-in-the-rock."  This  he 
carried  about  as  a  pocket-piece.  It  was  his  first  treas- 
ure, and  its  possession  not  only  lent  him  an  added  im- 
portance in  his  own  mind  and  in  the  minds  of  his  school- 
mates, but  sent  him  searching  for  other  specimens  with 
increased  zest. 

Suddenly,  on  July  7,  1854,  his  father  died  of  cholera, 
which  was  then  epidemic  in  the  state.  Writing  to  his 
little  grandson  in  1914,  Sir  William  Van  Home  said: 

My  father  died  when  I  was  eleven  years  old,  leaving  a  good 
name  and  a  lot  of  accounts  payable  and  some  bad  accounts  receiv- 
able. He  was  a  lawyer  who  seldom  took  fees.  I  can  remember 
him  refusing  payment  for  services  not  once  but  many  times,  when 
I  felt  sure  that  he  had  not  a  penny  in  his  pocket.  I  could  not 
understand  it  then,  and  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  I  do  now,  but  this 
occurred  in  a  newly  settled  country  where  all  were  poor  alike, 
and  my  father,  perhaps,  felt  himself  richer  than  the  others  because 
of  having  a  mortgaged  roof,  while  most  of  the  others  had  hardly 
any  roof  at  all. 

However,  there  we  were  at  his  death  with  nothing — my  mother, 


His  Father's  Death  13 

my  two  brothers  and  two  sisters,  all  younger  than  I.  My  mother 
was  a  noble  woman,  courageous  and  resourceful,  and  she  managed 
to  find  bread — seldom  butter — and  to  keep  us  at  school  until  I  was 
able  to  earn  something — which  I  had  to  set  about  at  fourteen. 


CHAPTER  II 

1854-60.       SCHOOLDAYS.       TELEGRAPHY.       A      PANO- 
RAMA.      FOSSILS    AND     GEOLOGY.       HIS     FIRST     POST. 
DISMISSAL.      THE  MICHIGAN   CENTRAL.      THE  AGAS- 
SIZ    CLUB. 

WITH  her  garden  and  her  needle  and  such 
trifling  sums  as  the  boy  William  earned  out 
of  school-hours,  his  widowed  mother  con- 
tinued "to  find  bread/'  but  she  was  so  poor  that  the 
"bread"  frequently  consisted  of  hominy  for  each  of  the 
three  meals  of  the  day.  The  family  had  to  move  from 
their  pleasant  house  and  grounds  into  a  very  small  cot- 
tage, and  Augustus,  the  elder  of  William's  two  brothers, 
was  taken  to  live  with  the  family  of  a  kindly  Pennsyl- 
vanian,  "Uncle  William  Cougar,"  who  had  been  his 
father's  first  neighbour  in  Illinois. 

William  continued  to  attend  school.  As  a  pupil  he 
was  lazy,  but  his  lively  intelligence  and  a  retentive  mem- 
ory enabled  him  to  stand  high  in  his  classes.  Finding 
his  chief  amusement  in  reading  and  in  drawing  pictures 
that  were  very  often  caricatures  of  his  teachers  and 
comrades,  he  played  few  games,  but  wrestled  and  fought 
with  every  boy  who  challenged  his  prowess.  The  fight- 
ing instinct  and  sense  of  leadership  which  in  later  years 
were  to  support  him  in  conquering  the  forces  of  nature 
were  already  surging  up  within  him.  He  fought  one 
school-fellow  every  time  they  met,  and  when  they  were 
punished  for  fighting  by  detention  after  school-hours, 
they  fought  again  as  soon  as  they  were  released.  His 

14 


Learning  Telegraphy  15 

prestige  was  seriously  threatened  when  he  was  beaten  in 
a  fight  with  a  strong  boy  who  came  to  Joliet  on  a  visit. 
But  he  quickly  recovered  his  ascendancy  by  fighting 
every  boy  who  offered  himself. 

Out  of  school  William  was  his  mother's  right  hand, 
making  a  little  money  by  carrying  telegraph  messages, 
helping  her  in  her  work,  and  chopping  wood — a  task 
which  he  then  detested  and  upon  which  all  through  his 
like  he  looked  back  with  feelings  of  detestation.  He 
always  said  it  was  the  only  real  work  he  had  ever  done. 
While  waiting  for  messages  to  deliver,  he  sat  about  the 
city  telegraph-office,  listening  to  the  tap  of  the  instru- 
ment and  watching  the  slow  unwinding  of  the  tape  that 
spelled  out  a  message  in  dots  and  dashes.  In  this  desul- 
tory way  the  messenger-boy  picked  up  some  knowledge 
of  telegraphy  which  was  to  prove  of  supreme  value  to 
him  in  his  future  career.  There  were  at  the  time  only 
three  telegraph-operators  in  Chicago,  and  few  anywhere 
west  of  that  city.  At  the  telegraph-office  he  learned 
other  things  than  telegraphy — hard-headed  bits  of  wis- 
dom, the  swapping  of  yarns,  and  the  game  of  poker, 
which  in  after-life  he  was  wont  to  define  as  "not  a  game 
but  an  education." 

His  evenings  were  spent  in  reading  and  in  copying  the 
illustrations  of  some  old  numbers  of  "Harper's  Maga- 
zine." Of  the  pictures  thus  made  he  gave  panoramic 
shows  to  his  schoolmates  in  a  barn,  and  becoming  more 
ambitious,  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old  he  painted  in 
colours  on  the  back  of  a  roll  of  wallpaper  a  panorama 
of  the  Crystal  Palace,  with  the  towers  and  spires  of 
London  in  the  distance.  The  panorama,  which  is  alleged 
to  have  been  "several  score  of  feet  in  length,"  was 
mounted  on  rollers  and  ingeniously  fitted  with  a  crank. 
It  was  exhibited  in  a  tent  at  a  street  corner  "under  the 


1 6     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

auspices  of  W.  C.  Van  Home,  Proprietor ;  H.  C.  Knowl- 
ton,  Secretary  and  Treasurer ;  Henry  E.  Lowe,  Business 
Manager."  While  the  Treasurer  and  Business  Mana- 
ger held  the  panorama  and,  by  means  of  the  crank,  slowly 
unrolled  it,  the  Proprietor  stepped  to  the  front  and  ex- 
plained its  salient  features.  An  admission  fee  of  a 
penny  was  charged,  but  the  exhibition  attracted  so  many 
grown-up  people  that  the  youthful  syndicate  was  able  to 
increase  the  fee. 

His  schooldays  came  to  an  abrupt  end  in  his  four- 
teenth year.  For  the  preceding  twelve  months  he  had 
intermittently  attended  a  new  school  with  a  high  school 
department,  and,  being  caught  caricaturing  the  principal, 
he  was  so  severely  punished  that  he  never  went  back. 
But  if  school  tasks  were  forever  ended,  he  had  a  fasci- 
nating study  of  his  own.  In  the  home  of  a  playfellow, 
Augustus  Howk,  he  had  discovered  an  illustrated  history 
of  Jefferson  County,  New  York.  Turning  over  its 
pages,  he  was  startled  to  find  a  drawing  of  his  own 
"worm-in-the  rock."  It  was  identical  with  the  piece  he 
carried  in  his  pocket,  and  in  the  book  it  was  called  a  cri- 
noid.  The  drawing  was  one  of  the  illustrations  of  a 
chapter  on  geology  which  the  boy  at  once  devoured. 
Fascinated  by  the  discovery  that  his  specimen  was  only 
one  of  a  myriad  fossil-forms,  he  spent  every  Sunday, 
in  company  with  Howk,  searching  the  quarries  and  the 
bed  of  every  stream  in  the  neighbourhood.  Howk  also 
began  to  collect  fossils,  and  their  zealous  and  systematic 
explorations  attracted  the  interest  of  the  State  Geolo- 
gist, who  gave  Howk  a  copy  of  Hitchcock's  "Elements 
of  Geology." 

This  book,  with  its  wonderful  story  of  the  crust  of 
the  earth,  now  became  for  William  the  most  desirable 
object  in  life.  He  could  not  borrow  it,  for  Howk,  hav- 


Hitchcock's  "Elements"  17 

ing  become  his  rival  in  collecting,  would  only  let  him 
look  into  it  from  time  to  time.  But  at  length  fortune 
smiled  upon  him.  The  Howk  family  were  planning  a 
visit  to  their  old  home  in  New  York.  His  request, 
pressed  with  all  his  powers  of  persuasion,  for  a  loan 
of  the  book  during  young  Howk's  absence  was  refused. 
He  offered,  unavailingly,  to  buy  the  use  of  the  book  with 
certain  of  his  fossils.  Finally,  he  went  over  them  all, 
selecting  those  of  which  he  had  duplicate  specimens,  and 
offered  the  whole  of  his  duplicates.  To  this  offer  his 
young  friend  and  rival  succumbed,  and  the  book  was 
triumphantly  borne  to  the  Van  Home  cottage  the  day 
before  the  Howks'  departure.  The  next  morning,  lest 
the  bargain  should  be  revoked  or  other  catastrophe  be- 
fall, William  and  the  book  disappeared  until  the  Howks 
had  gone  on  their  journey.  That  night  and  for  many 
nights,  after  the  day's  work  was  done,  the  boy  pored 
over  the  volume.  Then  he  conceived  the  idea  of  making 
it  his  very  own. 

Since  he  had  begun  to  carry  messages  his  small  earn- 
ings had  always  been  handed  to  his  mother,  but  he  had 
just  been  given  a  tip  of  twenty-five  cents  for  himself 
by  the  kindly  recipient  of  a  telegram.  It  was  the  first 
money  he  had  ever  had  to  spend  on  himself,  and  its 
expenditure  was  the  subject  of  grave  deliberation.  He 
loved  then,  as  all  through  his  life  he  loved,  good  things 
to  eat,  but  at  that  moment  he  loved  Hitchcock's  "Ele- 
ments" a  great  deal  more.  So  he  took  his  quarter  to  a 
small  stationery  shop  and  exchanged  it  for  as  much 
foolscap  as  it  would  buy,  with  the  shop-worn  sheets 
thrown  in.  That  night  in  the  small  attic  that  held  his 
bed  and  his  books  he  began  to  copy  the  book.  Winter 
was  not  far  off  and  the  attic  was  cold,  but  every  night 
found  him  there  industriously  at  work  by  candlelight. 


1 8     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Often  he  worked  through  most  of  the  night,  and  in  five 
weeks'  time  he  had  copied  in  ink  and  with  great  exacti- 
tude every  page,  picture,  and  note,  together  with  the 
index  of  the  book.  Of  his  effort  he  could  say  later  with 
comprehending  vision,  "The  copying  of  that  book  did 
great  things  for  me.  It  taught  me  how  much  could  be 
accomplished  by  application;  it  improved  my  handwrit- 
ing; it  taught  me  the  construction  of  English  sentences; 
and  it  helped  my  drawing  materially.  And  I  never  had 
to  refer  to  the  book  again." 

He  was  now  applying  himself  seriously  to  the  study 
of  telegraphy  at  the  city  office,  for,  with  his  schooldays 
definitely  behind  him,  he  knew  that  he  must  work  like 
a  man  and  learn  to  do  a  man's  job.  When  Lincoln  came 
to  Joliet  in  1856,  he  was  sufficiently  expert  to  assist  in 
sending  over  the  wire  the  story  of  his  reception  and 
speech  on  abolition;  and  in  the  spring  of  1857,  when  he 
was  fourteen,  the  Joliet  operator  found  work  for  him 
as  a  telegrapher  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Com- 
pany. 

The  mechanical  superintendent's  office,  to  which  he 
was  sent,  was  just  outside  of  Chicago;  and  the  work 
assigned  to  him  was  to  his  liking  and  within  his  capacity. 
But  something  of  the  same  desire  for  leadership  and  the 
besting  of  his  fellows  that  he  had  shown  at  school 
soon  asserted  itself.  A  lad  of  fourteen  could  only  hope 
to  attain  eminence  of  any  sort  among  the  grown  men 
about  him  by  the  exercise  of  his  wits.  Such  exercise 
unfortunately  took  the  form  of  resorting  to  practical 
jokes,  for  which  he  had  an  ingrained  propensity.  He 
ran  a  ground  wire  from  the  office  to  a  steel  plate  in  the 
yards,  within  view  from  his  window.  Every  man  who 
stepped  upon  the  plate  got  a  decided  electric  shock,  to  the 
amusement  of  the  boy  and  the  bewilderment  of  the  men, 


His  First  Post  19 

who  were  noisily  declamatory  against  they  knew  not 
what.  This  was  great  fun.  But  the  joke  miscarried. 
The  superintendent  himself  received  a  shock.  Unlike 
the  yardmen  he  had  some  knowledge  of  electrical  forces, 
and  he  started  searching  for  the  ground  wire.  It  led  to 
his  own  office.  Hot  with  anger,  he  mounted  the  stairs 
and  demanded  of  the  demure-faced  boy  his  share  in  the 
mischief.  The  youngster  promptly,  if  reluctantly,  con- 
fessed that  it  was  all  his.  Whereupon  the  superintend- 
ent took  him  by  the  collar,  thrust  him  out  of  the  door, 
and,  with  a  great  oath,  told  him  to  go  and  never  come 
back.  The  dismissal  was  definite  and  final,  and  the  boy 
took  it  philosophically  and  returned  to  Joliet  very  much 
more  of  a  man  than  when  he  had  left  it. 

In  the  autumn  he  worked  on  a  farm  until,  through 
the  good  offices  of  a  young  friend,  he  was  engaged  as 
freight-checker  and  messenger  by  the  assistant-superin- 
tendent of  the  "Cut-Off,"  a  forty-mile  branch  of  the 
Michigan  Central  Railway,  at  a  wage  of  fifteen  dollars 
a  month.  Joliet  was  now  a  thriving  little  city;  the 
freight  to  be  handled  was  considerable ;  and  there  were 
many  errands  to  be  done  for  the  superintendent.  His 
duties,  therefore,  brought  him  in  contact,  in  a  small 
way,  with  the  business  men  of  the  place,  who  were 
pleased  by  his  assiduity  and  intelligence. 

Before  he  had  been  many  months  in  his  new  position 
he  prevailed  upon  the  superintendent  to  urge  the  con- 
struction of  an  independent  telegraph  line,  which  he 
offered  to  operate.  The  line  was  duly  installed,  and  in 
1858  the  boy  of  fifteen  took  over  the  wire  the  report  of 
one  of  the  famous  debates  between  his  father's  old  asso- 
ciates, Douglas  and  Lincoln,  on  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
With  more  continuous  access  to  the  telegraph  instru- 
ment, the  young  operator  became  increasingly  expert 


2O     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  was  soon  able  to  discard  the  use  of  the  tape  and  to 
receive  his  messages  by  sound  alone.  He  was  the  first 
operator  in  his  district  to  do  this  and  among  the  earliest 
in  the  whole  country.  The  achievement  gave  a  decided 
fillip  to  his  reputation. 

The  telegraphic  work  of  the  office  did  not,  however, 
keep  him  fully  employed.  He  began  to  understudy 
the  duties  of  the  cashier,  the  timekeeper,  the  account- 
ant, and  the  other  men  around  him.  During  lunch- 
eon hours  and  at  night  he  would  slip  into  the  draw- 
ing-office and  copy  from  the  draughtsmen's  books.  He 
copied  in  this  way  most  of  the  illustrations  in  a  work 
on  perspective,  and  so  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  art.  A  draughtsman  was  astonished  by 
the  boy's  drawings  and  frequently  used  his  talent  for 
fine  lettering.  He  also  began  the  deliberate  cultivation 
of  his  memory,  which  was  already  remarkable,  and 
would  memorize  the  numbers  of  a  long  train  of  cars  as 
they  passed  through  the  yards ;  challenging  his  associ- 
ates to  memory  contests,  in  which  he  was  usually  vic- 
torious. 

A  visit  from  the  general  superintendent,  who  at  that 
time  was  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  Michigan 
Central,  gave  him  a  definite  ambition.  In  a  letter,  writ- 
ten shortly  before  his  death  to  his  grandson,  he  said: 

We  were  at  the  end  of  a  forty-mile  branch  of  the  Michigan 
Central  Railroad  where  we  were  seldom  visited  by  the  general 
officers  of  the  Company,  our  little  branch  not  being  of  sufficient 
consequence.  But  one  day,  during  my  eighteenth  year,  our  Gen- 
eral Superintendent  came.  These  were  before  the  days  of  Gen- 
eral Managers,  and  the  magnitude  of  a  General  Superintendent 
was  enormous  in  our  eyes. 

Everybody  from  the  Assistant  Superintendent  down  was  out 
to  see  the  arrival  of  his  special  train,  and  as  it  drew  up  a  portly 
gentleman  in  a  long  and  closely-buttoned  linen  duster  swung  him- 


Young  Ambition  21 

self  down  from  the  official  car  and  came  forward  to  meet  his 
assistants — came  with  that  bearing  of  dignity  and  importance 
which  consciously  or  unconsciously  attends  the  great  majority  of 
men  who  have  long  been  accustomed  to  command.  We  young- 
sters watched  with  bated  breath,  and  when  the  mighty  man  had 
gone  away  to  look  over  the  buildings  and  machinery  we  walked 
around  the  official  car  and  gazed  upon  it  with  awe. 

I  found  myself  wondering  if  even  I  might  not  somehow  become 
a  General  Superintendent  and  travel  in  a  private  car.  The 
glories  of  it,  the  pride  of  it,  the  salary  pertaining  to  it,  and  all 
that  moved  me  deeply,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  then  and  there  that 
I  would  reach  it.  And  I  did  ten  years  later,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight. 

I  only  mention  this  to  show  you  that  an  object  can  usually  be 
attained  through  persistence  and  steadiness  of  aim,  for  from  that 
day  on  the  goal  I  had  promised  myself  was  never  out  of  my  mind, 
and  I  avoided  every  path  however  attractive  that  did  not  lead 
in  its  direction.  I  imagined  that  a  General  Superintendent  must 
know  everything  about  a  railway — every  detail  in  every  depart- 
ment— and  my  working  hours  were  no  longer  governed  by  the 
clock.  I  took  no  holidays,  but  gladly  took  up  the  work  of  others 
who  did,  and  I  worked  nights  and  Sundays  to  keep  it  all  going 
without  neglecting  my  own  tasks. 

So  I  became  acquainted  with  all  sorts  of  things  I  could  not 
otherwise  have  known.  I  found  time  to  haunt  the  repair-shops 
and  to  become  familiar  with  materials  and  tools  and  machinery 
and  methods — familiar  with  locomotives  and  cars  and  all  pertain- 
ing to  them — and  to  learn  line  repairs  from  the  roadmaster  and 
the  section-hands — something  of  bridges  from  the  Engineer,  and 
so  on.  And  there  were  opportunities  to  drive  locomotives  and 
conduct  trains.  And  not  any  of  this  could  be  called  work,  for 
it  was  a  constant  source  of  pleasure. 

Although  he  was  thus  settling  down  to  work  in  grim 
earnest  and  beginning  to  wear  the  air  of  a  young  man 
to  whom  business  is  the  most  important  thing  in  life, 
he  was  not  neglectful  either  of  his  home  or  his  hobby. 
Teased  by  his  brothers  and  sisters  for  his  frequent  ab- 
sorption in  thought,  he  was  growing  into  the  mastery 


22     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  his  mother's  household.  While  the  mother  undemon- 
stratively  devoted  herself  to  anticipating  and  meeting 
the  needs  of  her  vigorous  and  growing  son,  to  providing 
food  which  would  appease  an  appetite  which  in  size  and 
fastidiousness  was  as  unusual  as  the  rest  of  him,  he,  in 
his  turn,  was  as  undemonstratively  devoted  to  her.  As 
his  small  salary  grew,  his  affection  was  revealed  by  the 
gift  of  a  bonnet  or  the  material  for  a  new  dress,  and  by 
the  replacement,  piece  by  piece,  of  the  worn-out  furni- 
ture of  their  cottage.  The  new  pieces  were  always  of 
the  simplest  lines  and  of  the  best  material  his  purse 
could  procure.  No  one  ever  exemplified  better  than  he 
the  truth  of  the  saying,  "the  child  is  father  of  the  man," 
and  the  taste  and  good  judgment  he  displayed  in  this 
formative  period,  between  fifteen  and  twenty,  was  but 
an  early  manifestation  of  the  interest  he  never  ceased 
to  take  in  the  worth  and  the  beauty  of  his  surroundings. 
Much  of  his  leisure  was  given  to  the  works  of  Agassiz, 
Miller,  and  other  writers  on  geology.  Sunday,  his  one 
free  day  in  the  week,  was  spent  in  winter  in  reading  or 
in  arranging  his  specimens.  In  the  warmer  seasons, 
accompanied  by  a  friend  of  similar  tastes  and  equipped 
with  a  hammer  and  a  bag,  he  took  long  tramps  in  search 
of  fossils.  The  country  around  Joliet  was  especially 
favourable  to  palseontological  research,  for  numerous 
fossils  were  imbedded  in  the  five  geological  formations 
that  came  to  the  surface.  With  this  area  ransacked,  the 
young  geologists  went  as  far  afield  as  the  Kankakee 
River,  where  they  found  new  species  in  an  exposure  of 
Cincinnati  limestone.  From  crinoidea,  Van  Home  had 
progressed  to  trilobites,  brachiopoda,  and  fishes ;  and  his 
collection  contained  many  specimens  which  had  not  yet 
been  classified.  No  less  than  nine  have  been  named 
after  their  discoverer  and  continue  to  carry  the  descrip- 


The  Agassiz  Club  23 

live  suffix  "Van  Hornei"  in  the  palaeontological  ency- 
clopedise. 

The  establishment  of  the  Illinois  Natural  History 
Society  at  Bloomington  inspired  him  and  his  comrades, 
in  the  winter  of  1859,  to  institute  the  Agassiz  Club  of 
Joliet,  of  which  he  was  the  first  president.  The  club 
secured  quarters  at  a  nominal  rent  on  the  top  floor  of  a 
bank,  and  it  was  agreed  that  each  member  should  con- 
tribute to  a  permanent  exhibit.  Since  the  museum 
was  intended  for  the  public,  a  Joliet  lumber-merchant 
was  asked  to  donate  wood  for  the  shelving.  He  refused 
to  contribute  anything  toward  the  advancement  of 
"a  pretended  science  which  aimed  to  refute  the  Bib- 
lical history  of  the  world."  The  club  made  week-end 
trips  to  points  as  distant  as  Wilmington  and  Mason 
Creek,  twenty-five  miles  away,  where  a  carboniferous 
formation  promised  them  a  large  new  field  for  their 
researches. 

The  boys  took  their  researches  quite  seriously.  They 
corresponded  with  the  State  Geologist,  the  Director  of 
the  New  York  State  Museum,  and  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution; and  the  directions  of  the  Institution  for  the 
care  and  preservation  of  specimens  were  carefully  ob- 
served. When  on  one  occasion  they  branched  away 
from  fossils  and  tried  to  bottle  up  a  large  water-snake 
that  refused  to  stay  bottled,  their  experiment  led  to  a 
lively  scene  with  neighbours  who  did  not  share  their 
scientific  interest.  During  the  Civil  War,  Howk  and 
Savage,  two  members  of  the  club,  while  prisoners  of  the 
Confederate  forces,  were  caught  making  a  sketch  of  an 
interesting  formation  near  the  prison  camp.  They  were 
brought  before  an  officer  who  refused  to  believe  their 
story  that  they  were  making  the  sketch  for  the  records 
of  the  Agassiz  Club,  and  it  might  have  gone  badly  for 


24     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

them  if  a  ranking  officer  had  not  proved  more  credulous 
and  ordered  them  to  be  sent  home  on  parole.  The  sketch 
was  confiscated  and  never  reached  the  president. 

The  club  dissolved  when  its  founder  left  Joliet,  and 
his  ambition  to  establish  a  local  museum  was  never 
realized.  Many  years  later  his  own  collection,  enlarged 
and  classified,  and  especially  notable  for  its  specimens  of 
fossil  fish-teeth,  was  given  to  the  palaeontological  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Chicago. 


CHAPTER  III 

1861-67.      ENLISTMENT.      THE  CHICAGO  AND  ALTON. 
AGASSIZ.       DRAWING.       MARRIAGE. 

WHEN  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  Lincoln's 
state,  like  every  other  part  of  the  country, 
seethed  with  excitement.  In  the  dingy  office 
of  the  Cut-Off  the  danger  threatening  the  Union  became 
the  absorbing  topic  of  conversation  among  the  men 
working  or  loafing  there.  Their  talk  stirred  the  boy, 
and  one  morning,  without  a  word  to  anyone,  he  went  to 
the  recruiting  office  and  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Fed- 
eral army.  But  he  was  the  main  support  of  his  widowed 
mother,  and  his  exceptional  value  as  a  capable  tele- 
grapher at  a  time  when  the  Cut-Off  was  an  important 
link  in  the  transportation  of  troops  made  his  retention 
essential  to  the  railway.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  his  en- 
listment became  known  to  Knowlton,  the  assistant- 
superintendent,  the  latter  provided  a  substitute  and  se- 
cured his  release. 

That  his  employers  considered  his  services  to  be  indis- 
pensable did  not,  however,  relieve  him  from  experienc- 
ing some  days  of  trouble  and  anxiety  when,  the  rev- 
enues of  the  Michigan  Central  having  been  seriously 
affected  by  the  war,  Knowlton  received  instructions  to 
reduce  his  staff.  The  news  quickly  spread  through  the 
office  and  the  yards,  and  none  of  the  employees  was 
more  dismayed  by  the  prospect  of  dismissal  than  Van 
Home.  The  vision  of  a  general-superintendent's  pri- 
vate car  was  swallowed  in  the  blackness  of  the  future, 

25 


26     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  the  thought  of  his  home  and  its  needs  weighed 
heavily  upon  him. 

"That  evening  the  Chief  sent  for  me  when  I  was  in 
despair.  He  said,  'You  know  the  instructions  sent  out. 
The  staff  here  has  to  be  reduced,  but  I  expect  to  keep 
you  on.  Now  how  much  of  the  work  can  you  do?'  I 
said,  desperately,  'I  guess  I  can  do  it  all.' ' 

To  such  self-reliance,  reinforced  by  the  knowledge 
he  had  acquired  of  the  work  of  the  office,  shops,  and 
yards,  opportunities  were  not  wanting,  and  he  quickly 
became  the  assistant-superintendent's  right-hand  man. 
The  growing  importance  of  his  position  did  not,  how- 
ever, prevent  him  from  indulging  in  practical  jokes. 
One  day  when  he  was  in  charge  of  the  office  some  gravel 
cars  escaped  from  the  pit-master,  Glassford,  and,  racing 
wild  through  the  yards,  charged  into  the  repair  shops 
where  one  Williamson  was  foreman.  The  operator 
diplomatically  wired  his  absent  chief,  "George  B.  Mc- 
Lennan Glassford  stormed  Fort  Williamson  this  morn- 
ing with  a  battery  of  four  cars  of  gravel  and  completely 
demolished  the  Fort." 

Again,  word  went  out  that  the  Cut-Off  office  had  news 
of  a  great  Union  victory  of  which  there  were  splendid 
and  thrilling  details.  The  townspeople  were  jubilant, 
and  flags  were  run  up.  But  the  Chicago  newspapers, 
when  they  came  in,  brought  no  word  of  a  Federal  vic- 
tory, not  even  the  promise  of  one !  Some  irate  citizens 
went  to  look  for  the  inveterate  joker  at  the  Cut-Off 
office,  but  that  evening  he  was  sitting,  chuckling  quietly, 
at  home. 

In  1862  the  superintendent  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton 
Railway  offered  him  a  position  as  operator  and  ticket- 
agent  at  Joliet,  with  a  substantial  increase  of  salary. 
The  Chicago  and  Alton,  like  other  western  roads,  was  at 


Initiative  and  Resourcefulness  27 

the  time  in  desperate  straits,  but  Joliet  was  on  its  main 
line  and  the  post  would  bring  him  directly  under  the  ob- 
servation of  headquarters  officials,  so  he  accepted  it. 
His  new  duties,  which  included  the  sale  of  tickets  and 
making  change,  and  the  receipt  and  dispatch  of  tele- 
graph-messages, also  gave  him  something  of  great  value 
—his  first  experience  in  the  handling  of  men.  He  found 
occasion,  too,  to  show  an  initiative  and  a  resourcefulness 
beyond  the  routine  of  his  agency.  He  saw  that  the  but- 
ter brought  into  the  station  by  the  farmers  for  shipment 
was  affected  in  quality  and  value  by  standing  in  a  warm 
freight-shed.  He  reasoned  that  if  he  could  help  the 
farmer  to  get  a  higher  price  for  his  butter,  he  would  get 
more  of  the  farmers'  butter  to  ship  and  so  increase  the 
earnings  of  the  road.  On  his  own  responsibility,  there- 
fore, he  fitted  up  a  primitive  cold-storage  chamber  in  the 
freight-shed.  The  idea  worked  so  well  in  practice  that 
the  railway  company  made  general  use  of  it  at  other 
points  on  the  road.  His  days  were  long  and  arduous, 
and  he  sat  up  late  at  night  with  his  books,  finding  it  diffi- 
cult to  rise  as  early  in  the  morning  as  was  necessary  for 
his  work.  Seeing  him  hurry  off  to  the  station  before  the 
first  train  came  in,  his  mother  would  often  slip  into  his 
hands  the  breakfast  he  had  had  no  time  to  eat  and  warn 
him  that  he  "never  would  amount  to  anything  in  the 
world  if  he  didn't  learn  to  go  to  bed  and  rise  earlier." 

Railways  were  outgrowing  the  early  system  of  mov- 
ing trains  by  hand-chart  and  watch,  and  the  more  effi- 
cient telegraphers  were  sought  as  train-dispatchers.  In 
1864,  therefore,  Van  Home  was  promoted  to  be  train- 
dispatcher  at  Bloomington,  a  divisional  point  of  the 
Chicago  and  Alton,  ninety  miles  distant  from  Joliet. 
The  dispatching  of  trains  involved  great  responsibility 
and  demanded  the  closest  attention,  and  his  work-day 


28     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

was  twelve  hours  long;  but  he  was  a  glutton  for  work. 
He  frequently  took  on  a  few  hours  of  the  night-dis- 
patcher's duty  and  found  time  to  inform  himself  of  the 
work  which  was  being  carried  on  in  the  yards,  shops, 
and  offices.  These  were  especially  interesting  to  him 
because  Bloomington  was  the  seat  of  the  company's 
chief  car-works  and  repair-shops,  which  were  equipped 
on  a  scale  far  more  extensive  than  anything  he  had 
known  at  Joliet.  The  information  he  thus  acquired  and 
the  general  knowledge  he  had  gained  during  his  service 
with  the  Michigan  Central  soon  gave  him  some  author- 
ity among  his  fellow-employees.  His  quick  wit  and 
personal  force  converted  this  into  a  recognized  leader- 
ship. In  such  disputes  as  occurred  among  the  men  con- 
cerning the  interpretation  of  train-rules  and  similar 
matters,  he  was  chosen  as  umpire. 

Familiarity  with  railway  officials  had  lessened  the 
young  man's  awe  of  general-superintendents.  One  day 
the  general-superintendent  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton 
was  at  Bloomington,  arranging  a  new  train-schedule. 
The  adjustment  of  the  running  and  crossing  of  trains 
was  the  basis  of  train-operation,  and  was  properly  re- 
garded as  a  "ticklish  job"  and  one  suitable  only  for 
highly  responsible  officials.  As  the  superintendent  sat 
laboriously  arranging  the  threads  and  pins  on  the  charts, 
the  young  dispatcher  stood  beside  him.  He  became  im- 
patient as  he  watched,  itching  for  a  chance  to  do  the 
work  according  to  his  own  ideas. 

"That 's  a  hell  of  a  way  to  make  a  time-sheet,"  he 
said  at  last  quietly. 

The  superintendent  rose. 

"If  you  can  do  it  better,  take  the  job!" 

He  took  it  and  completed  the  work  so  satisfactorily 


Train-Dispatching  29 

that  as  long  as  he  remained  at  Bloomington  the  duty  of 
making  the  train-schedules  was  assigned  to  him. 

As  a  train-dispatcher  he  no  longer  had  his  Sundays 
free  for  fossil-hunting,  but  his  interest  in  science  was 
broadening.  He  remained  up  all  night  to  make  elabo- 
rate charts  of  the  progress  of  a  comet,  and  secured  re- 
ports of  the  phenomenon  from  every  alert  dispatcher  on 
the  line.  The  State  Geologist,  who  was  his  warm 
friend,  wrote  him  that  the  famous  Agassiz  was  passing 
through  Bloomington  on  a  certain  train,  and  asked  him 
to  look  him  up.  When  Agassiz's  train  arrived,  Van 
Home  introduced  himself  and  travelled  with  him  for 
some  distance.  Their  conversation  ended  with  an 
arrangement  for  a  correspondence  which  continued  until 
Agassiz's  death. 

He  treated  his  gift  for  drawing  less  seriously,  but  in 
leisure  moments  he  would  dash  off  caricatures  and 
lightly  finished  sketches ;  and  he  did  a  painting  of  Starved 
Rock,  an  interesting  landmark  in  central  Illinois,  which 
he  sold  to  a  Joliet  stationer.  While  in  the  service  of  the 
Michigan  Central  he  had  composed  and  humorously 
illustrated  a  manuscript  book  containing  the  soi-disant 
story  of  an  unpopular  official.  This  had  been  passed 
with  great  amusement  from  one  end  of  the  line  to  the 
other.  At  Bloomington  all  reprimands  from  headquar- 
ters were  decorated  with  laughable  caricatures  of  the 
senders,  and  executive  warnings  of  accidents  arising 
from  negligence,  when  pasted  up  under  the  big  clock, 
were  adorned  with  whimsical  or  terrifying  pictures  of 
the  accidents  in  question. 

Living  economically  at  Bloomington,  he  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  salary  to  providing  for  the  comfort 
of  his  mother  and  two  sisters  in  Joliet.  His  brother 


30     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Augustus  was  working  on  a  farm ;  his  youngest  brother 
held  a  small  clerical  post.  His  elder  sister  secured  a 
teacher's  licence,  but  her  brothers  objected  so  strongly 
to  their  sister  doing  work  outside  the  home  that  she 
never  used  it. 

One  Sunday,  in  1866,  he  surprised  his  family  by  an- 
nouncing his  engagement  to  Miss  Lucy  Adaline  Hurd. 
The  daughter  of  Erastus  Hurd  of  Galesburg,  111.,  a 
civil  engineer  engaged  in  railway  construction,  she  and 
her  widowed  mother  had  come  from  Galesburg  to  Joliet 
and  had  settled  there.  "Tall,  slender,  and  dignified,  with 
softly  waving  black  hair,  hazel  eyes,  and  apple-blossom 
complexion/'  she  had  been  educated  at  Lombard  Col- 
lege, Galesburg.  When  Lincoln  visited  that  city  in 
1858,  she  had  been  chosen  for  her  beauty  and  personal 
distinction  to  read  the  city's  address  of  welcome  to  him. 

Miss  Hurd  went  from  Joliet  to  Chicago  every  week 
to  attend  Dr.  Ziegfield's  College  of  Music.  One  night, 
returning  by  a  late  train,  she  found  no  one  at  the  station 
to  meet  her.  Her  home  was  two  miles  away  and  the 
young  ticket-agent  offered  his  escort.  With  a  deference 
to  women  that  was  already  strongly  marked  in  his  man- 
ner to  his  mother  and  sisters,  he  hastily  crammed  his 
pipe  into  his  pocket.  As  he  walked  on,  quite  overcome 
with  shyness,  he  forgot  that  the  pipe  was  still  alight, 
until  the  odour  of  burning  wool  led  him  to  discover  that 
his  coat  had  caught  fire.  He  silently  smothered  the 
pipe  as  best  he  could. 

This  meeting  took  place  in  1864,  while  Van  Home 
was  still  stationed  in  Joliet,  and  thereafter  he  began 
more  and  more  frequently,  and  as  often  as  he  could 
run  over  from  Bloomington,  to  visit  Miss  Hurd  at  her 
home.  When,  after  two  years  of  courtship,  he  an- 
nounced his  betrothal,  he  wished  to  be  married  at  once^ 


Courtship  and  Marriage  31 

But  about  the  same  time  his  elder  sister  became  en- 
gaged, and  since  her  brothers  had  protested  against  her 
earning  money  for  herself,  the  mother  argued  that  they 
should  now  provide  her  with  a  suitable  trousseau.  In 
this  they  cheerfully  concurred,  and  it  was  not  until 
March,  1867,  that  Van  Home's  obligations  to  his  family 
and  his  financial  circumstances  would  permit  him  to 
marry. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage  his  mother,  his  sister 
Mary,  and  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  Hurd,  joined  the 
newly-wedded  couple  at  Bloomington  and  by  his  wish 
continued  permanently  to  share  his  home.  This  some- 
what unusual  household  lived  in  complete  harmony,  and 
the  arrangement  worked  well.  All  through  his  life  he 
was  singularly  fortunate  in  the  well-ordered  manage- 
ment and  serenity  of  his  home.  The  irregular  hours 
often  forced  upon  a  railwayman  by  the  exigencies  of  his 
employment  are  apt  to  strain  the  temper  and  the  re- 
sources of  the  best  of  housekeepers,  but  the  women  of 
Van  Home's  household  ever  idolized  him,  ministered  to 
his  needs,  and  forestalled  his  wishes.  Except  in  times  of 
sicknesses  and  bereavements  from  which  no  family  is  im- 
mune, there  never  was  a  moment  in  his  career  when  the 
difficulties  of  his  work  or  his  business  were  enhanced  by 
trouble  in  his  home. 


CHAPTER  IV 

1868-74.  PROMOTION.  THE  CHICAGO  FIRE.  THE 
ST.  LOUIS,  KANSAS  CITY  AND  NORTHERN.  RAILWAY- 
MEN'S  CLUBS.  A  STRIKE.  A  PRACTICAL  JOKE. 

NURSING. 

IN  1868  Van  Home  was  promoted  to  be  superintend- 
ent of  the  entire  telegraph  system  of  the  Chicago 
and  Alton.  The  position  entailed  the  inspection 
of  the  telegraph  system  over  all  parts  of  the  line  and 
brought  him  into  more  frequent  touch  with  the  com- 
pany's leading  officials.  Already  aware  of  his  record 
for  efficiency  and  initiative,  they  were  struck  by  his  force 
of  character  and  bearing.  The  offer  of  the  position 
of  superintendent  of  the  southern  division  of  the  rail- 
way quickly  followed,  and  was  promptly  accepted.  He 
moved  his  family,  which  now  included  his  infant  daugh- 
ter, Adaline,  to  Alton.  Not  yet  twenty-six  years  of 
age,  he  now  had  entire  charge  over  his  division  of 
the  company's  property,  of  the  transportation  of  pas- 
sengers and  freight,  and  of  the  appointment  of  agents. 
Moreover,  he  was  under  the  friendly  observation  of 
John  J.  Mitchell,  a  director  who  was  already  prominent 
in  western  railway  circles  and  who  resided  in  Alton. 
The  doors  of  opportunity  were  opened  wide  before  him. 
With  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  development  of 
western  railways  was  going  on  apace  with  a  great 
revival  in  industry.  New  lands  were  opened  up  and 
new  markets  created.  A  desire  for  travel  stimulated  the 
people.  Small  eastern  railways  were  combining  to  form 

32 


The  Chicago  Fire  33 

larger  and  more  efficient  systems.  General  Dodge,  in 
his  "hell-on-wheels,"  was  pushing  the  Union  Pacific  on 
its  spectacular  course  through  a  region  of  protesting 
Indians,  and  other  western  railwaymen  were  only  wait- 
ing for  financial  support  to  emulate  the  few  who  had 
already  thrown  their  roads  across  the  Mississippi. 

Van  Home  swam  on  the  crest  of  the  wave,  and  his 
reputation  for  brains,  industry,  and  reliability  spread 
from  one  end  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  to  the  other. 
"I  do  not  know  anyone  who  more  perfectly  exemplified 
the  value  of  'doing  the  next  thing  well'  than  Van 
Home,"  said  Marvin  Hughitt  some  years  later,  refer- 
ring to  this  period  as  well  as  to  Van  Home's  subsequent 
career. 

In  1870  he  was  promoted  to  the  Chicago  headquarters 
of  the  railway  and  given  entire  charge  of  transportation 
over  the  system.  The  ideals  he  held  up  to  the  many 
employees  who  were  now  under  his  control  were  those 
that  formed  his  own  personal  standard:  the  highest 
efficiency  obtainable,  and  a  concentration  on  business 
so  intense  that  results  were  not  only  to  be  the  best  pos- 
sible, but  such  as  no  rival  railroad  could  surpass.  His 
vigilance  was  unremitting,  and  often  at  one  or  two  in  the 
morning  he  would  go  to  the  train-dispatcher's  office  to 
learn  how  trains  were  moving. 

In  1871  occurred  the  memorable  fire  that  destroyed 
a  great  part  of  Chicago.  It  started  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing in  October  when  Van  Home  was  experiencing  all 
the  emotions  of  a  delighted  father  and  an  anxious  hus- 
band, for  on  the  preceding  night  his  wife  had  given 
birth  to  a  son.  Notwithstanding  his  great  anxiety,  as 
soon  as  he  learned  that  the  fire  was  approaching  the 
business  section  and  the  Union  Depot,  he  hastened  from 
his  home  on  the  West  Side  to  look  after  his  company's 


34     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

property.  He  stood  on  the  top  of  a  tall  building  to  esti- 
mate for  himself  the  progress  of  the  fire,  and  saw  in  the 
distance  great  sheets  of  flame  rise  like  waves  over  the 
houses  and  fall  in  a  trough  of  fire  two  or  three  blocks 
ahead.  Thoroughly  alarmed,  he  hurried  to  the  station 
and  planned,  with  the  few  employees  he  found  there,  to 
clear  the  freight-sheds.  As  a  measure  of  safety,  most 
of  the  rolling-stock  had  already  been  removed,  but  he 
procured  a  shunting-engine  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and  St.  Paul  road  which  was  still  in  the  yards  and  sev- 
eral flat-cars.  Then  he  went  among  the  crowds  on 
Jackson  Street  bridge  and  offered  five  dollars  an  hour 
to  every  man  who  would  help  load  the  freight  on  the 
cars.  Many  came,  but  their  desire  to  watch  the  titanic 
conflagration  soon  tempted  them  to  leave,  and  the  young 
superintendent  was  almost  distracted  between  his  efforts 
to  keep  them  at  work  and  the  constant  necessity  of 
hurrying  out  to  secure  fresh  helpers.  Eventually, 
however,  he  succeeded  in  transferring  all  the  freight  to 
a  place  of  safety  five  miles  away.  But  when  he  looked 
around  for  the  workers  to  pay  them  their  money,  they 
had  disappeared — and  none  ever  returned  to  ask  for 
it.  Satisfied  that  he  had  done  all  that  could  be  done 
to  protect  the  company's  property,  he  returned  to  his 
home,  black  as  an  Ethiopian  with  soot  and  grime.  Reas- 
suring himself  of  the  well-being  of  his  wife  and  her 
infant,  he  set  to  work  very  quietly  and  industriously  to 
strip  his  home  of  everything,  and  more  than  everything, 
that  could  be  spared.  He  commandeered  a  grocer's 
wagon,  and,  with  his  mother's  aid,  loaded  it  with  clothes 
and  bedding  for  the  shivering  refugees  from  the  South 
Side  who  were  camped  in  the  park. 

Early  in  1872  he  again  had  to  move  his  family  and 
his  household  goods  and  "rocks."     His  new  home  was 


The  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  Northern        35 

in  St.  Louis.  Timothy  Blackstone,  the  president  of  the 
Chicago  and  Alton,  and  John  J.  Mitchell,  with  some 
associates  in  St.  Louis  and  in  the  East,  had  recently 
bought  the  Northern  Missouri  Railway.  They  planned 
to  reorganize  it  and  make  it  a  link  in  the  Chicago  and 
Alton's  growing  system.  Connecting  the  Kansas  Pacific 
with  the  Alton  and  Pennsylvania  lines,  the  acquisition 
was  intended  as  the  first  step  toward  the  achievement  of 
their  private  ambition  to  control  a  trans-continental  line. 
They  organized  it,  however,  as  an  apparently  independ- 
ent railway  under  the  name  of  the  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City  and  Northern. 

Van  Home  was  chosen  to  manage  and  develop  this 
road,  which  embraced  five  hundred  and  eighty-one  miles 
of  railway.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  was  prob- 
ably the  youngest  general  superintendent  of  a  railway 
in  the  world  at  that  time.  Shortly  afterwards  his  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  railway  problems  received  recogni- 
tion of  a  different  and  gratifying  character  from  his 
brother  railwaymen.  He  attended  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  Railway  Association  of  America  and  was 
appointed  the  chairman  of  a  committee  "to  report  a  plan 
for  securing  uniformity  in  locomotive  reports,  etc." 

Installed  in  his  new  office,  he  began  with  feverish 
energy  to  bring  the  equipment  of  the  road  to  a  state  of 
efficiency,  and  urged  the  economy  of  purchasing  steel  in- 
stead of  iron  rails.  He  declared  his  policy  to  be  to  give 
due  consideration  to  the  interests  of  the  patrons  of  the 
line,  "fully  recognizing  the  fact  that  all  permanent  busi- 
ness relations  must  be  conducted  in  equity  and  fairness 
and  must  be  mutually  advantageous — or  they  will  cease." 
And  he  added  that  "the  highest  degree  of  success  in 
managing  a  railroad  depends  upon  making  it  for  the 
interest  of  the  largest  possible  number  to  avail  them- 


36     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

selves  of  its  use/'  and  upon  their  profiting  largely  by 
doing  so.  Whenever  opportunity  had  offered,  as  in  the 
installation  of  a  cold-storage  chamber  in  the  freight- 
shed  at  Joliet,  he  had  already  acted  on  these  principles 
himself ;  and  now  that  he  was  clothed  with  managerial 
authority,  he  was  determined  that  they  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  all  his  subordinate  officers. 

Inculcating  upon  the  employees  of  the  road  the  exer- 
cise of  the  most  stringent  economy,  he  required  them  to 
give  of  the  best  that  was  in  them,  but,  although  he  was 
a  strict  taskmaster  and  disciplinarian,  he  was  no  mar- 
tinet, and  exacted  of  no  one  such  long  hours  of  service 
as  he  gave  himself.  Of  one  weakness,  however,  namely, 
drunkenness,  he  was  severely  intolerant,  and  he  issued 
the  most  stringent  rules  prohibiting  the  use  of  alcohol 
by  engineers,  trainmen,  and  others  while  on  duty.  He 
appreciated,  however,  the  disadvantages  of  an  occupa- 
tion which  took  men  so  much  from  their  homes,  and  to 
provide  for  their  comfort  he  established  clubs  and  read- 
ing-rooms for  them  at  divisional  points. 

The  dismissal  of  an  engineer  for  drunkenness  brought 
him  his  first  managerial  experience  of  a  strike.  The 
engineer  had  been  replaced  by  an  efficient  substitute 
whom  the  Brotherhood  of  Engineers  erroneously  as- 
serted to  be  a  strike-breaker  and  a  scab.  Van  Home 
refused  to  discharge  him  or  to  reinstate  the  dismissed 
engineer,  bluntly  telling  the  delegates  who  interviewed 
him  that  "the  Chicago  and  Alton  have  had  their  nose 
brought  down  to  the  grindstone  too  often,  and  they  are 
not  going  to  do  it  this  time  if  I  can  help  it." 

The  fight  was  a  long  and  bitter  one,  and  the  strikers 
indulged  in  sabotage  of  the  most  ruthless  kind.  The 
Brotherhood  of  Engineers  was  not  then  the  powerful 
and  disciplined  organization  it  has  since  become,  but 


LADY   VAN  HORNE 


A  Strike  of  Locomotive  Engineers  37 

the  men  were  on  their  mettle,  fearless,  and  hard  to  beat. 
Van  Home,  however,  showed  himself  to  be  a  first-class 
fighting  man.  Rolling-stock  could  go  daily  into  the 
ditch;  repair-shops  could  become  crowded;  men  could 
murmur  and  threaten:  he  was  immovable.  He  was 
in  the  fight  to  the  finish.  For  weeks  his  working-day 
ran  close  to  twenty-four  hours.  He  astounded  his  staff 
by  his  disregard  of  sleep.  He  was  always  present  to 
see  the  first  train  go  out  and  the  last  come  in.  When 
firemen  could  not  be  had,  he  secured  volunteers  from  his 
own  office-staff  to  man  the  locomotives  and  go  out  in 
the  dark  to  face  the  unknown  dangers  of  a  track  on 
which  obstacles  might  be  placed  or  switches  maliciously 
turned.  Forty  years  later  he  soliloquised,  "From  the 
union's  standpoint  the  scab  may  be  a  mean  man,  but 
sometimes  he  is  an  heroic  one!" 

The  strike  ended  in  a  complete  victory  for  the  gen- 
eral superintendent  and  the  company.  The  men  were 
gradually  brought  to  realize  that  if  they  did  their  duty, 
the  management  would  see  that  they  were  fairly 
treated,  but  that  there  would  be  no  tolerance  of  ineffi- 
ciency or  unfaithfulness.  "A  railway/'  he  reminded 
them,  "was  not  a  reform  school."  The  lesson  was 
driven  home  by  the  dismissal  of  a  conductor  for  disobey- 
ing a  train-order  and  of  another  employee  for  a  slight 
impertinence  to  a  passenger.  Peace  brought  no  slack- 
ening of  discipline.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  as  he 
stood  about  in  small  stations,  his  knowledge  of  tele- 
graphy enabled  him  to  detect  disobedience,  and  the  accu- 
racy of  his  deductions,  with  the  swiftness  of  his  punish- 
ments, brought  him  a  reputation  for  uncanny  powers. 

It  was  a  happy  thing  for  Van  Home  that  when  he 
went  home  at  the  close  of  the  day,  he  could  leave  his 
work  behind  him  and  become  a  cheerful  boyish  compan- 


38     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

ion.  At  thirty-one  years  of  age  he  is  described  by  a  con- 
temporary as  being  "rather  heavy  set.  His  features 
were  handsome.  He  had  dark  blue  eyes,  an  aquiline 
nose,  and  a  firm  well-shaped  mouth.  His  forehead  was 
high  and  quite  devoid  of  hair.  His  constant  manner 
was  that  of  a  person  preoccupied  with  great  affairs." 
But  grave  and  thoughtful  as  he  looked,  he  could  still 
take  pleasure  in  the  perpetration  of  practical  jokes.  As 
at  Bloomington  he  had  once  altered  the  plates  in  his 
mother's  fashion  journal  to  a  collection  of  freaks,  he 
now  took  liberties  with  her  copies  of  "Harper's  Maga- 
zine" before  they  reached  her.  He  changed  a  series  of 
portrait-sketches  of  American  authors  by  Wyatt  Eaton 
so  that  they  looked  like  pictures  of  bandits  and  cowboys. 
This  was  so  cleverly  done  that  his  mother  and  Mrs. 
Hurd  were  deceived.  They  protested  that  it  was  scan- 
dalous of  the  editors  of  the  magazine,  and  in  shockingly 
bad  taste,  to  treat  with  such  buffoonery  the  persons  of 
Hawthorne,  Emerson,  Longfellow,  and  other  famous 
writers.  And  they  might  well  be  excused  for  being  de- 
ceived, for  some  years  later  when  the  distorted  illustra- 
tions were  shown,  without  an  explanation,  to  Wyatt 
Eaton,  he  was  himself  deceived  and  indignant.  Some- 
time in  the  eighties  these  caricatured  illustrations 
were  borrowed  by  John  A.  Eraser,  an  artist  then  sketch- 
ing in  the  Rockies.  From  him  they  passed  to  R.  W. 
Gilder  of  New  York,  who  played  them  off  upon  the 
cognoscenti  of  the  Century  Club.  One  of  Gilder's 
friends,  an  artist  and  critic,  remarked,  "They  are  sim- 
ply wonderful,  and  show  so  much  knowledge  that  it 
seems  hardly  possible  they  could  have  been  done  by  any 
other  than  a  trained  artist  with  the  genius  of  a  Ho- 
garth." 

While  they  lived  in  St.  Louis,  Mrs.  Van  Home  was 


A  Successful  Nurse  39 

afflicted  with  small-pox.  To  send  his  wife  to  the  city 
pest-house,  the  only  provision  for  such  cases  at  the 
time,  was  unthinkable.  Taking  only  the  physician  and 
family  into  his  confidence,  he  isolated  himself  with  her 
in  the  attic-study  where  he  kept  his  fossil  collection. 
As  long  as  the  illness  lasted  he  spent  his  days  in  the 
room,  nursing  his  wife  and  amusing  himself  with  his 
specimens.  At  night  he  changed  his  clothing,  and,  hav- 
ing thoroughly  disinfected  himself,  went  down  to  his 
office  when  the  staff  was  gone,  attended  to  the  day's 
work,  and  returned  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning 
to  the  study  to  snatch  a  little  sleep  or  to  resume  the  care 
of  his  patient.  Mrs.  Van  Home  made  a  splendid  recov- 
ery. Scarcely  a  mark  was  left  to  disfigure  her,  the 
disease  was  communicated  to  no  one,  and  the  young 
superintendent  could  regard  his  first  experience  as  a 
nurse  with  undivided  satisfaction. 

After  two  years  of  his  energetic  and  resourceful  man- 
agement the  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  Northern  was 
fairly  on  its  feet.  Its  physical  condition,  its  equipment, 
and  its  personnel  were  such  as  bade  fair  to  make  it  a 
desirable  and  valuable  addition  to  the  Chicago  and 
Alton  system.  Differences,  however,  arose  among  its 
directors,  and  Blackstone  and  Mitchell,  abandoning 
their  cherished  scheme  of  a  transcontinental  line  and 
wearying  of  the  enterprise,  sold  their  interest.  But 
they  had  no  intention  of  allowing  their  vigorous  super- 
intendent to  remain  either  with  the  road  or  in  St.  Louis. 

Among  Mitchell's  associates  were  the  New  York  bond- 
holders of  the  Southern  Minnesota  Railway.  As  was 
the  case  with  other  small  pioneer  roads  suffering  from 
lack  of  proper  financing,  experienced  management,  and 
supporting  traffic,  the  Southern  Minnesota  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  receiver  and  in  very  poor  condition.  Mitchell 


40     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

persuaded  the  bondholders  that  the  man  who  could  most 
effectively  build  it  up  and  convert  it  into  a  paying  prop- 
erty was  William  Van  Home,  and  prevailed  upon  him 
to  leave  St.  Louis  and  become  its  president  and  general 
manager.  On  October  i,  1874,  Van  Home  took  up  resi- 
dence at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin. 

Before  he  assumed  his  new  post,  however,  the  grow- 
ing recognition  of  his  ability  caused  him  to  be  selected 
by  eastern  capitalists  who  were  interested  in  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  to  inspect  and 
report  upon  the  condition  and  requirements  of  that  road. 


CHAPTER  V 

1874-79.      THE  SOUTHERN  MINNESOTA.      ESPRIT  DE 

CORPS.          FLOODS.          GRASSHOPPERS    AND    PRAYERS. 

PUTTING    PLACES   ON    THE    MAP. 

THE  Southern  Minnesota  afforded  Van  Home  the 
greatest  opportunity  which  had  yet  come  to  him. 
Although  it  was  a  small  and  comparatively  un- 
important road,  he  was  now  clothed  with  supreme  exec- 
utive power,  being  president,  director,  and  general  super- 
intendent in  one — a  general  manager  who  could  make 
or  break  towns,  build  them  up  by  his  favour  into  flour- 
ishing centres  or  "make  the  grass  grow  on  their  streets." 
But  if  the  opportunity  was  exceptional,  the  task  was 
commensurately  difficult.  The  Southern  Minnesota's 
track  was  the  proverbial  "streak  of  rust"  on  the  western 
frontier,  with  a  main  line  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  miles  running  through  Minnesota  from  Winne- 
bago  to  La  Crescent  on  the  Mississippi.  At  its  eastern 
terminus  connection  was  made  by  ferry  with  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway.  Like  many 
other  small  western  roads,  it  had  been  built  with  state 
aid  in  the  period  of  extravagant  development  that  fol- 
lowed the  Civil  War.  Its  builders  had  been  more  inter- 
ested in  railway  speculation  than  in  railway  operation, 
and  from  the  beginning  it  had  led  a  hand-to-mouth 
existence.  As  originally  planned,  it  was  still  unfinished. 
It  was  in  the  throes  of  a  second  foreclosure  and  was 
notoriously  in  arrears  for  taxes.  Of  the  land  grant 
given  with  its  original  charter,  more  than  one-half  had 

41 


42     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

been  alienated  to  meet  obligations  which  should  other- 
wise have  been  provided  for.  Parts  of  the  roadbed 
were  in  such  disrepair  as  to  threaten  a  total  loss.  Men 
on  the  road  could  say  that  the  pay-car  had  not  been  seen 
for  months.  These  desperate  conditions  were  intensi- 
fied by  the  wave  of  depression  which  had  swept  over  the 
county  after  the  "Black  Friday"  of  1873,  when  Jay 
Cooke,  the  backer  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  had 
been  hammered  into  insolvency  on  the  New  York  stock 
exchange. 

Into  the  task  of  rehabilitating  this  down-at-heels  road 
and  making  it  a  dividend-paying  property,  operating  in 
prosperous  communities,  Van  Home  plunged  with  the 
utmost  vigour.  Dismissing  some  of  his  predecessor's 
staff  and  replacing  them  by  men  who  had  already  worked 
with  him  and  in  whom  he  had  confidence,  he  imme- 
diately instituted  measures  entailing  the  most  rigid  econ- 
omy. As  a  first  step  to  clearing  the  road  of  its  many 
difficulties,  he  had  accurate  maps  prepared,  and,  deal- 
ing directly  with  the  owners,  he  settled  all  outstanding 
claims  for  right-of-way.  Multiplying  himself,  he  mas- 
tered the  details  of  every  department,  improved  the  old 
sections  of  the  road,  and  added  to  the  traffic  equipment. 
He  succeeded  not  only  in  meeting  all  current  obligations, 
but  in  discharging  many  old  ones.  The  first  year  of  his 
management  saw  the  gross  earnings  of  the  road  reach 
the  highest  amount  in  its  history.  The  operating  ex- 
penses had  dropped  from  72  to  56  per  cent,  of  the  earn- 
ings, and  there  was  a  respectable  sum  in  the  treasury. 

The  most  roseate  prophecies  of  the  new  management 
had  been  exceeded,  and  the  bondholders  of  the  road  were 
assured  by  their  executive  committee  that  they  had  every 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  its  improved  condition  and 
"its  present  efficient  manager."  Such  prompt  and  grat- 


The  Southern  Minnesota  Railway  43 

ifying  results  could  not  have  been  reached  by  the  con- 
centrated efforts  and  ingenuity  of  any  one  man,  and  in 
achieving  them  Van  Home  had  been  aided  by  every  em- 
ployee of  the  company.  Getting  into  unusually  close 
personal  touch  with  the  employees  of  every  department, 
he  had  sought  to  excite  the  interest  of  all  in  the  regen- 
eration of  the  road.  Contests  with  money-prizes  were 
established  in  many  branches  of  the  work,  from  track- 
repairing  to  engine-driving.  The  best  work  at  the  least 
cost  was  the  standard,  and  the  prize-winners  received 
personal  letters  from  the  president  which  they  were 
wont  to  declare  they  valued  more  than  the  prize.  In 
these  and  other  ways,  and  by  the  example  of  his  own 
untiring  industry,  he  succeeded  in  creating  an  esprit  de 
corps  that  stimulated  the  entire  working  force.  "Just 
as  poor  as  crows  we  were/7  one  of  them  has  said.  "We 
had  to  look  twice  at  every  cent.  But  we  all  enjoyed 
working  on  that  road.  Van  Home  was  full  of  ways  to 
get  around  difficulties  and  filled  with  ideas  for  improv- 
ing every  branch  of  the  work." 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  the  financial  difficul- 
ties under  which  the  management  laboured.  In  ear- 
lier days  the  company  had  frequently  been  obliged,  for 
lack  of  money  to  meet  its  obligations,  to  issue  warrants 
or  promises  to  pay,  and  unfulfilled  pledges  returned 
from  time  to  time  to  plague  the  new  management.  One 
day,  in  1875,  when  Van  Home  was  in  St.  Paul  with  two 
of  the  road's  bondholders,  they  passed  a  pawnbroker's 
shop.  In  the  window  was  a  card  reading,  "Unredeemed 
pledges  for  sale."  One  of  them  turned  and  mysteri- 
ously beckoned  the  others  away  from  the  shop. 

"Did  you  see  that  card?"  he  whispered.  "Better  give 
the  place  a  wide  berth;  we  might  find  some  of  ours  in 
that  lot." 


44     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Having  got  his  road  into  something  like  order  and 
instituted  a  regimen  of  the  strictest  economy  in  all  oper- 
ating and  maintenance  expenditure,  Van  Home  now  ap- 
plied himself  assiduously  to  the  task  of  building  up 
traffic  for  the  road.  Wheat  being  the  chief  product  of 
the  tributary  country,  he  set  out  to  secure  every  possible 
bushel.  Offering  inducements  for  the  erection  of  flour- 
mills  and  suitable  grain-elevators,  his  efforts  were 
within  six  months  rewarded  by  the  erection  along  the 
line  of  six  first-class  elevators  and  three  large  mills. 
But  as  though  the  road  were  not  already  sufficiently 
handicapped,  new  trials  had  to  be  faced.  In  the  spring 
of  1876  the  roadbed  was  severely  damaged  by  floods, 
particularly  in  the  Root  River  Valley,  where  it  bridged 
the  winding  river  nine  times  in  a  distance  of  forty-five 
miles.  Bridges  were  washed  out;  abutments,  embank- 
ments, and  tracks  carried  away;  and  for  twenty-three 
days  all  through  traffic  had  to  be  suspended. 

This  was  before  the  days  of  properly  equipped  and 
trained  wrecking-crews.  A  few  expert  men  went  out 
from  the  shops.  Gangs  of  labourers  were  recruited 
from  the  settlers,  and  they  were  expected  to  stay  at  the 
work  until  repairs  were  finished.  The  president  was  on 
the  scene  most  of  the  time,  supervising  their  efforts. 
The  restoration  of  the  roadbed  and  track  was  so  urgent 
that  sometimes  the  men  had  to  work  for  two  days  or 
more  at  a  stretch  without  sleep;  but  the  president  kept 
them  going  by  a  generous  supply  of  good  food  and 
strong  coffee.  Once,  when  the  men  were  nervously 
wrought  up  from  the  exhaustion  of  continued  labour  at 
high  pressure,  combined  with  the  stimulation  of  the 
coffee,  and  were  inclined  to  grumble,  a  foreman  silenced 
them  with  the  objurgation,  "Damn  you!  It's  a  good 
thing  to  have  a  man  like  Van  Home  come  around  here 


A  Plague  of  Grasshoppers  45 

once  in  a  while  with  such  grub  to  take  the  wrinkles  out 
of  your  bellies !" 

Van  Home's  faith  in  good  food  and  its  bearing  upon 
good  work  found  an  echo  in  every  eating-house  along 
the  line.  It  was  positively  understood  that  no  eating- 
house  would  be  tolerated  unless  the  food  was  the  best 
possible,  and  its  quality  was  often  personally  tested  by 
Van  Home  himself.  Nor  was  he  unmindful  of  his  own 
needs.  When  out  on  the  road  it  was  no  unusual  thing 
for  him  to  telegraph  ahead  for  roast-chicken  dinners  to 
be  prepared  for  two,  and  when  he  arrived  to  eat  both 
of  them  himself.  But  if  his  appetite  was  prodigious, 
it  was  on  no  larger  scale  than  his  boundless  vitality. 
An  inveterate  smoker,  and  working  in  his  office  from 
9:30  or  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  n  or  12  o'clock 
at  night,  with  an  interval  for  dinner,  he  formed  the  habit 
of  taking  only  two  meals  a  day ;  and  he  seemed  the  em- 
bodiment of  health. 

Spring  floods  and  a  short  wheat  crop  were  not  the 
only  trials  which  beset  his  road  in  1876.  A  plague  of 
grasshoppers,  which  had  already  worked  havoc  in  the 
northern  half  of  the  state,  descended  upon  southern 
Minnesota,  impeded  traffic,  and  devastated  the  farms. 
Worse  was  feared  for  the  coming  year,  and  public 
prayers  for  the  removal  of  the  plague  were  proclaimed. 
The  president  of  the  railway  had  no  faith  in  the  efficacy 
of  such  a  remedy.  "It 's  all  very  well  your  turning  to 
prayers,"  he  said,  "but  I  don't  believe  it  will  move  the 
grasshoppers.  What  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  take  off 
your  coats  and  hustle." 

Such  an  emergency  was  well  calculated  to  excite 
his  ingenuity  and  offered  him  a  problem  which  he  thor- 
oughly enjoyed.  He  devised  a  simple  plan  which  he 
put  into  operation  along  the  right-of-way.  Wide  pans 


46     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  sheet-iron  or  stretched  canvas,  thickly  smeared  with 
coal-tar,  were  drawn  by  horses  over  the  ground.  The 
grasshoppers,  disturbed  by  their  advent,  flew  up,  be- 
came hopelessly  entangled  in  the  tar,  and  at  intervals 
could  be  collected  and  burned.  The  scheme  was  so 
promising  that  the  farmers  adopted  it.  The  state 
agreed  to  supply  them  with  tar ;  the  railway  cooperated 
by  carrying  the  tar  and  iron  free  of  charge.  Black 
heaps  of  dead  grasshoppers  soon  dotted  the  prairie. 
One  day,  in  a  cloud  that  seemed  to  be  miles  in  length, 
the  survivors  flew  away.  Most  of  the  crop  was  saved, 
the  net  earnings  of  the  road  again  bounded  upward,  and 
operating  expenses  were  again  reduced. 

Van  Home  could  not  confine  his  activities  to  the 
routine  of  railway  administration,  varied  from  time 
to  time  by  rate-wars  with  competing  divisions  of 
stronger  roads.  He  organized  a  company  to  build  a 
railway  which  would  form  a  western  extension  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  length,  of  his  own  road,  and 
secured  from  the  State  for  this  extension  the  reenact- 
ment  of  an  earlier  land  grant  which  had  been  forfeited 
by  the  Southern  Minnesota  through  failure  to  complete 
its  line  as  originally  chartered.  The  quest  of  a  charter 
for  the  company  brought  him  into  a  new  field,  into  a 
milieu  which  was  distasteful  and  in  which  his  down- 
right qualities  were  not  likely  to  shine.  He  had  to 
make  frequent  visits  to  St.  Paul  to  enlighten  the  State 
Assembly  as  to  the  need  and  desirability  of  the  pro- 
posed extension  and  to  exercise  all  his  persuasive 
powers  upon  legislators  and  lobbyists.  He  impressed 
the  assemblymen  as  "a  man  of  commanding  intellect 
and  energy  who  knew  what  he  knew  for  certain,"  and 
he  obtained  the  legislation  and  the  land  grant  he  wanted. 


First  Construction  Work  47 

But  his  first  experience  of  politics  and  politicians  left 
an  unpleasant  impression  which  he  never  lost. 

The  surveys  of  the  extension  were  actively  under  way 
in  1877,  and  when  the  company  was  incorporated  early 
in  1878  the  right-of-way  was  secured  and  the  plans  pre- 
pared. In  creative  and  construction  work  he  always 
took  special  delight.  Construction  plans,  prepared  each 
day,  were  brought  to  him  in  the  evening  and  considered, 
approved,  or  altered.  Frequently  he  came  to  his  office 
in  the  morning  with  new  ideas  to  be  incorporated  in  the 
plans,  and  these  his  chief  engineer  found  "were  remark- 
able for  their  originality  and  wisdom;  and  if  one  just 
had  the  knack  of  grasping  his  ideas  and  set  to  work  to 
carry  them  out,  they  always  proved  the  best  possible." 

While  construction  gangs  were  rapidly  pushing  this 
extension  over  the  Dakota  boundary,  earning  for  it  as 
they  went  the  State  land  grant  of  315,000  acres,  the 
Southern  Minnesota,  whose  right-of-way  was  now  free 
of  all  claims  and  whose  earnings  not  only  met  expenses 
and  interest  charges  but  were  sufficient  to  pay  off  old 
debts,  was  attaining  a  measure  of  prosperity.  In  1877 
it  passed  out  of  the  receiver's  hands,  and  Van  Home 
could  report  that  "the  condition  of  the  entire  property 
will  now  compare  favorably  with  that  of  any  other  road 
of  its  class  in  the  Northwest."  The  board  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  evidently  shared 
this  belief,  for  they  began  negotiations  which  resulted, 
early  in  1879,  in  their  purchase  of  the  Southern  Minne- 
sota for  a  price  highly  advantageous  to  the  bondholders 
and  creditable  to  the  man  who  had  pulled  the  road  out 
of  bankruptcy.  The  services  of  its  president  were  not 
transferred  with  the  railway,  for,  to  the  great  regret 
of  his  devoted  staff,  he  was  seized  again  by  Timothy 


-48     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Blackstone  and  John  J.  Mitchell  for  the  general  super- 
intendency  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton.  It  was  arranged, 
however,  that  he  should  retain  the  presidency  of  the 
Southern  Minnesota  and  keep  in  touch  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  extension. 

Some  months  elapsed  before  his  removal  to  Chicago, 
and  he  occupied  himself  in  the  interval  with  a  scheme 
for  securing  settlers  along  the  line  of  the  extension.  He 
had  the  insight  and  shrewdness  to  grasp  the  fact  that 
a  settler,  cultivating  land  and  creating  traffic  for  the 
railway,  was  of  far  greater  importance  and  value  to 
the  railway  than  the  price  obtainable  for  the  land. 
Under  his  scheme  credits  were  given  settlers  for  all  land 
broken  within  one  year  of  the  sale  at  the  rate  of  $2.50 
per  acre;  for  all  land  broken  within  the  second  year 
of  the  sale,  $1.50  per  acre.  For  all  land  seeded  with 
grain  within  two  years  of  the  sale  an  additional  credit 
of  fifty  cents  an  acre  was  allowed;  and  all  credits  were 
to  be  applied  on  the  first  payment  due  on  the  land.  The 
scheme  proved  a  great  success.  Sales  of  land  along 
the  extension  were  so  numerous  as  rapidly  to  open  up 
the  country  and  furnish  traffic  for  the  road. 

In  building  the  extension  Van  Home  took  a  keen  and 
sportive  interest  in  locating  and  naming  stations. 
Wherever  old  Indian  associations  lingered,  he  indicated 
them  in  the  name,  as  at  Pipestone,  where  the  Indians, 
following  an  ancient  custom,  still  assembled  once  a  year 
to  get  the  red  stone  for  making  their  pipes.  One  sum- 
mer day  on  the  prairies,  as  he  was  exercising  this  priv- 
ilege of  putting  places  on  the  map  and  so  determining 
the  site  of  a  future  village,  a  town,  or  perhaps  even  a 
city,  he  met  a  young  priest  who  was  driving  across  the 
plains  in  a  buck-board  with  Dillon  O'Brien  of  St.  Paul. 
The  newcomer  was  selecting  land  for  a  colony  of  immi- 


Land  Settlement  in  Minnesota  49 

grants  about  to  arrive  from  Europe.  Van  Home,  who 
was  as  quickly  appreciative  of  the  young  stranger's  per- 
sonality as  he  was  of  the  value  of  settlers  to  the  road, 
promptly  invited  him  to  select  the  location  of  two  town- 
sites  for  his  people  and  to  name  them.  In  this  way 
Fulna  and  lona  came  on  the  map  of  Minnesota  and  had 
for  their  sponsors  two  men  whose  names  were  destined 
to  live  in  the  history  of  the  West,  for  the  young  priest 
afterwards  became  Archbishop  Ireland. 

Upon  leaving  Minnesota,  Van  Home  closed  the  most 
notable  chapter  of  his  life  in  the  United  States.  He 
had  had  an  unusual  experience  of  executive  work  in 
every  phase  of  railroading.  Faced  with  serious  compe- 
tition on  a  road  which  had  little  equipment,  he  had 
learned  to  make  one  locomotive  or  one  car  do  the  work 
previously  allotted  to  two.  He  had  tested  all  kinds  of 
rolling-stock.  He  had  learned  to  know  what  to  expect 
from  men.  And  among  railwaymen  he  had  achieved  an 
outstanding  reputation. 


CHAPTER  VI 

1879-81.  THE  CHICAGO  AND  ALTON.  PRESIDENT 
HAYES.  THE  CHICAGO,  MILWAUKEE  AND  ST.  PAUL. 
ENGINES  AND  CARS.  STATION  DESIGNS.  A  RAIL- 
WAY FIGHT.  JAMES  J.  HILL.  FOSSILS  AND  HORTI- 
CULTURE. 

REGARDING  him  as  an  iconoclast  in  railway 
operation,  the  men  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton 
awaited  Van  Home's  arrival  in  Chicago  with 
some  concern,  but  those  who  took  pride  in  their  work 
quickly     found     their     fears     dispelled.     "Everybody 
thought   Van   Home  would  tear   things.     Everybody 
looked  for  lightning  to  strike.     Even  the  general  man- 
ager was  disturbed  over  his  appointment.     But  Van 
Home  went  his  gait  in  a  characteristic  go-ahead  style, 
invariably  hitting  it  right." 

The  fact  is  that  as  soon  as  he  began  to  feel  his  feet  he 
also  began  to  apply  the  principles  of  the  economical  use 
and  operation  of  rolling-stock  which  he  had  formu- 
lated for  himself  on  the  Southern  Minnesota.  The  one 
striking  innovation  that  he  effected  was  an  arrange- 
ment whereby  the  road  should  operate  its  own  dining- 
cars  and  reap  the  profits  arising  therefrom,  instead  of 
using,  as  was  the  case  with  all  other  American  lines, 
the  dining-cars  of  the  Pullman  Company.  He  charac- 
teristically ordered  that  more  generous  portions  should 
be  served  in  the  Alton  dining-cars  than  were  served  in 
the  Pullman  cars.  And,  incidentally,  he  surprised  the 
car-builders  of  the  Alton  by  his  intimate  knowledge  of 

so 


Losing  President  Hayes  51 

car  construction  and  by  the  number  of  new  ideas  which 
he  gave  them,  illustrating  with  his  own  sketches  how 
he  wished  the  work  to  be  done. 

Although  the  Chicago  and  Alton  was  an  important 
and  well  established  railway  system,  the  general  super- 
intendent w  as  spared  the  tameness  of  unchallenged  pros- 
perity. The  road  was  waging  a  continual  traffic-war 
with  competing  railways  and  at  the  time  was  fiercely 
battling  for  Kansas  City  traffic  with  the  St.  Louis,  Kan- 
sas City  and  Northern,  which  had  a  few  years  previously 
been  under  his  own  management.  Happily  for  him  his 
vitality,  energy,  and  ambition  found  their  completest  ex- 
pression in  the  joy  of  conflict,  and  he  fought  the  battle 
for  his  road  with  such  ability  and  success  as  not  only  to 
meet  the  highest  expectations  of  his  friends,  Blackstone 
and  Mitchell,  but  also  to  attract  the  admiration  of  the 
heads  of  other  and  greater  railway  systems. 

On  one  occasion,  however,  he  was  completely  beaten 
by  a  rival  road.  President  Hayes,  returning  in  1878 
from  a  tour  of  the  West,  desired  to  pass  from  Kansas 
City  through  Illinois  to  his  native  town  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  and  the  official  in  charge  of  the  President's  itiner- 
ary asked  the  Chicago  and  Alton  to  provide  a  special 
train  for  the  journey.  The  company,  appreciative  of 
the  compliment,  gladly  assented,  and  the  arrangements 
were  entrusted  to  Van  Home  to  be  carried  out  in  the  best 
manner  possible.  He  made  up  a  special  train  of  the 
finest  cars  he  could  get,  and  Kinsley,  the  Delmonico  of 
Chicago,  was  engaged  for  the  catering.  The  train  left 
Chicago  for  Kansas  City  to  meet  the  President,  having 
only  Van  Home  and  his  friend,  George  B.  Hopkins  of 
Chicago,  as  passengers.  About  five  o'clock  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  as  the  train  stood  in  the  yards  of  the 
Kansas  City  terminal,  Van  Home  rose,  dressed,  and 


52     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

went  out  for  a  walk.  Passing  the  telegraph  offices,  his 
attention  was  caught  by  hearing  his  own  name  come 
over  the  wire.  He  stopped  to  listen.  The  message 
came  from  an  official  of  a  competing  railway  and  was 
a  request  to  his  general  manager  to  make  ready  a  special 
train  to  take  the  President's  party  across  Illinois.  The 
sender  expressed  his  joy  at  capturing  the  party  from  the 
Chicago  and  Alton,  and  exultantly  closed  his  message 
with,  "Van  Home  will  be  as  mad  as  hell !" 

He  went  back  to  his  train  with  the  news.  There  was 
nothing  to  be  done  but  watch  the  President  arrive  and 
then  return  home.  He  said  little  to  his  friend  of  what 
he  felt :  there  were  occasions  when  not  even  a  matchless 
railwayman's  vocabulary  could  give  consolation.  To 
facilitate  the  passage  of  the  President  over  the  Chicago 
and  Alton  the  road  had  been  "locked"  from  Kansas  City 
to  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  train  had  to  be  run 
over  the  line  to  "unlock"  it  and  restore  it  to  its  normal 
schedule.  As  the  special  flew  on,  they  found  crowds  of 
people  loyally  gathered  at  the  small  western  stations  to 
cheer  the  head  of  the  nation.  This  could  only  intensify 
the  unfortunate  nature  of  the  trip,  but  notwithstanding 
his  anger  and  mortification,  Van  Home's  resourceful- 
ness did  not  fail  him.  Rather  than  see  the  crowds  dis- 
appointed he  persuaded  his  friend  Hopkins,  who  had 
donned  a  frock  coat  for  the  occasion  and  was  famous  as 
the  owner  of  the  only  top-hat  west  of  the  Ohio,  to  stand 
on  the  rear  platform  of  the  train  and  bow  to  the  people. 
Hopkins  accordingly  graciously  greeted  the  crowds, 
and  being  a  man  of  fine  appearance,  impressed  them  as 
much  as  the  President  he  impersonated  would  have  done. 

The  two  friends,  traveling  in  such  forlorn  state  with 
an  observation  car,  a  smoking-car,  and  several  other  cars 


Losing  President  Hayes  53 

at  their  disposal,  sat  down  to  a  $10,000  dinner,  with 
twenty-five  waiters  to  minister  to  their  needs,  and  a 
chef  and  five  assistants  in  the  kitchen,  anxious  to  obey 
their  slightest  wish.  The  dinner  was  fit  for  the  gods, 
but  it  was  served  in  gloom  and  depression.  The  con- 
tretemps was  more  than  a  joke;  it  was  an  insult  to  the 
Chicago  and  Alton.  The  climax  came  when  the  train 
reached  a  junction  in  Illinois  where  the  rival  roads  came 
together,  and  the  two  specials  met.  General  Tecumseh 
Sherman,  who  was  a  member  of  the  President's  party, 
came  into  Van  Home's  car,  and  complaining  that  he  had 
travelled  for  four  days  with  the  President  without  a 
drink,  begged  for  a  Scotch  and  soda.  It  then  appeared 
that  a  rival  railway  official,  who  was  also  a  prominent 
politician  and  a  member  of  the  Republican  National 
Committee,  had  gone  west  from  Kansas  to  meet  the 
party  and  had  captured  them  through  the  friendly  offices 
of  an  official  who  was  ignorant  of  the  arrangements 
which  had  been  made  with  the  Chicago  and  Alton. 

General  Sherman  asked  Van  Home  to  go  with  him 
to  see  the  President,  but  Van  Home  refused.  Sherman 
finally  returned  to  his  train  and  brought  President  Hayes 
back  with  him  to  express  his  regret  for  the  contretemps. 

The  story  of  this  episode  went  the  length  and  breadth 
of  many  states,  and  every  rival  railroader  was  crowing 
over  the  defeat  of  the  hitherto  invincible  Van  Home. 
He  felt  it  keenly  at  the  time,  but  soon  came  to  regard  it 
as  a  great  joke. 

His  superintendency  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  was  of 
short  duration.  His  success  in  resuscitating  the  mori- 
bund Southern  Minnesota  and  the  qualities  he  displayed 
in  fighting  the  battles  of  the  Alton  so  strongly  impressed 
S.  S.  Merrill,  the  general  manager  of  the  Chicago,  Mil- 


54     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

waukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  that  he  became  anxious 
to  secure  his  services  for  that  road.  In  1879  ^e  made 
Van  Home  an  offer  that  was  tempting  to  a  man  of  his 
nature.  Unable  to  compete  with  their  stronger  neigh- 
bours, the  small  western  railways  were  gradually  being 
absorbed  into,  and  consolidated  with,  the  larger  sys- 
tems. The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul,  which 
already  owned  and  operated  over  twenty-two  hundred 
miles  of  railway,  had  been  particularly  active  in  this 
work  of  acquisition  and  consolidation  and  was  con- 
templating further  extensive  purchases.  Each  of  the 
smaller  roads  brought  its  individual  difficulties  of  oper- 
ation, and  it  was  believed  that  Van  Home's  genius  was 
necessary  properly  to  consolidate  and  operate  them  as 
parts  of  one  harmonious  system  from  the  Milwaukee 
headquarters. 

As  a  result  of  the  negotiations  Van  Home  again 
severed  his  business  relations,  but  not  his  friendship, 
with  John  J.  Mitchell  and  Timothy  Blackstone,  and  ac- 
cepted the  new  position.  Titularly  he  became  the  gen- 
eral superintendent  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul,  but  he  was  vested  with  the  duties  and  powers  of 
a  general  manager. 

An  unexpected  difficulty  confronted  him  on  taking 
up  his  duties  in  Milwaukee.  His  capacity  as  a  railway 
executive  could  not  be  disputed,  but  a  number  of  import- 
ant officials  objected  to  a  new  man  being  put  over  their 
heads.  A  spirit  of  antagonism  prevailed,  and  insubor- 
dination in  the  younger  officials  was  encouraged.  This 
was  a  situation  which  Van  Home  did  not  relish,  for 
although  he  did  not  wear  his  heart  on  his  sleeve,  he  had 
very  warm  feelings  and  was  sensitively  aware  of  a  hos- 
tile atmosphere.  On  one  occasion  he  countered  this 
unfriendliness  by  direct  attack. 


The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul          55 

"Why  are  you  prejudiced  against  me?"  he  feelingly 
asked  Frederick  D.  Underwood,  a  young  clerk  who  after- 
wards became  president  of  the  Erie  Railroad. 

"I  am  not  prejudiced ;  and,  now  that  I  come  to  think 
of  it,  I  have  no  reason  to  be  against  you  at  all,"  replied 
the  other. 

But  several  months  elapsed  before  he  could  feel  that 
he  had  entirely  won  the  cordial  support  of  his  fellow- 
officers.  He  went  about  his  work  apparently  imperturb- 
able and  always  strong,  buoyant,  and  capable;  and  in 
the  end  they  found  his  personality  irresistible.  Always 
impetuous,  at  times  he  exhibited  a  masterful  temper,  but 
his  outbursts  were  invariably  directed  against  careless- 
ness or  stupidity  and  were  usually  dissolved  in  a  big 
hearty  laugh.  His  whole  nature  was  positive — positive 
in  opinion  and  action,  in  beliefs  and  disbeliefs — and  he 
had  small  patience  with  the  doubts  and  fears  of  the 
wavering  man.  Anything  that  savoured  of  crookedness 
or  double-dealing  earned  his  outspoken  wrath  and  con- 
tempt. On  the  other  hand,  he  never  failed  to  recognize 
ability  or  to  acknowledge  promptly  his  own  mistakes. 
His  patience  in  threshing  out  business  plans  and  details 
was  inexhaustible.  And  in  the  settlement  of  all  disputes 
referred  to  him  he  adhered  rigidly  to  justice  even  though 
all  his  interest  and  prejudice  might  lie  in  the  other  direc- 
tion. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  service  with  the  Milwaukee 
road  its  trackage  was  increased  from  2231  to  3755  miles, 
but  he  could  give  only  a  part  of  his  time  to  the  task  of 
consolidating  the  several  branches  and  constituent  parts 
and,  through  centralized  operation,  of  welding  them 
into  one  well-coordinated  system.  The  road  was  faced 
with  a  more  difficult  problem.  The  ceaseless  competi- 
tion between  the  railways,  many  of  which  had  been  pre- 


56     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

maturely  built  to  anticipate  future,  rather  than  to  meet 
existing,  requirements,  had  resulted  in  a  continual  dimi- 
nution of  freight-rates.  Where  it  had  been  compara- 
tively easy  to  operate  a  road  profitably  on  an  average 
rate  of  one  arid  a  half  or  two  cents  a  pound,  it  was  now 
a  matter  of  great  difficulty  and  grave  concern  to  meet 
interest  charges  and  maintain  dividends  on  an  average 
rate  of  a  cent  a  pound  or  less.  The  only  solution  lay  in 
the  institution  of  more  economical  methods  of  opera- 
tion. 

For  work  of  this  kind  Van  Home  had  exceptional 
qualifications.  His  experience  had  been  unusually  com- 
prehensive. To  his  early  grasp  of  traffic  operation  he 
had  added  a  mastery  of  construction  and  administration. 
In  the  early  days  of  his  management  of  the  Southern 
Minnesota  he  had  been  compelled  to  put  into  practice 
the  most  stringent  economies;  indeed,  to  save  its  treas- 
ury the  expense  of  attorney's  fees  he  had  even  felt 
himself  obliged  to  make  some  study  of  railway  law. 
Moreover,  he  was  a  pioneer  by  nature  and  not  weighed 
down  with  respect  for  precedent.  Many  railwaymen 
paradoxically  called  him  "an  idol-smashing  heathen," 
but  this  was  not  held  against  him  in  a  country,  and 
during  a  period,  generously  open  to  new  ideas.  By 
many  he  was  conceded  to  be  the  most  ingenious  and 
resourceful  railway  operator  in  America. 

Every  department  of  the  Milwaukee  road  in  its  turn 
felt  the  pressure  of  his  hand,  but  his  most  strenuous 
efforts  were  directed  to  securing  the  utmost  possible 
economy  in  the  transportation  of  freight  by  increasing 
the  train-load  and  lowering  the  ton-mile  cost.  Men 
who  did  not  know  of  his  earlier  study  of  everything 
that  went  to  make  up  a  train  or  a  railroad  were  aston- 
ished at  the  liberties  he  took;  men  who  did  know  re- 


Revolutionary  Methods  In  Railway  Operation     57 

joiced  in  the  fertility  of  his  mind.  He  "made  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  operation  of  railroads  and  the  cost  of  oper- 
ating, and  railway  presidents  of  to-day  continue  to  prac- 
tise the  methods  introduced  by  him.  He  taught  the 
railway  world  how  to  load  cars  to  their  fullest  capacity. 
In  fact,  it  might  be  said  that  he  created  cars  on  the 
Milwaukee  by  making  eight  hundred  do  the  work  of  a 
thousand.  And  it  was  with  engines  as  with  cars,  and, 
indeed,  with  all  the  equipment." 

The  locomotive  engineers  did  not  relish  the  new 
methods.  Fifty  years  had  not  passed  since  the  first 
steam-engine  had  been  hailed  in  America  as  something 
supernatural.  But  twenty  years  had  gone  by  since  the 
locomotive  had  been  a  novelty  in  Illinois;  and  to  the 
pioneer  engineer  his  locomotive  was  a  sentient  thing. 
He  loved  her  and  hated  to  put  a  strain  on  her.  He  liked 
to  see  her  rest  quietly  in  the  shops  until  he  was  ready  to 
take  her  out  on  the  road.  Van  Home  not  only  ordered 
that  engines  should  be  utilized  to  their  fullest  capacity, 
but  he  had  engines  sent  out  with  whatever  drivers  it 
was  most  convenient  to  employ.  Against  this  practice 
the  engineers  protested  in  vain,  and  at  times,  after  long 
runs  on  strange  locomotives,  they  would  take  another 
run  on  the  locomotives  they  regarded  as  their  own 
rather  than  see  them  go  with  strange  hands  at  the 
throttles. 

While  he  increased  the  load  of  the  freight  engine  and 
the  freight  car,  he  showed  his  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  the  fast  freight  service  in  competitive  traffic  by  insist- 
ing that  fast  trains  should  be  so  loaded  and  made  up  as  to 
be  fast  in  reality. 

The  storekeeping  and  accounting  systems  were  over- 
hauled and  reorganized,  and  this  work  brought  specially 
to  his  notice  the  cleverness  and  ability  of  a  young  clerk 


58     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

in  the  Milwaukee  stores,  Thomas  G.  Shaughnessy,  whom 
he  appointed  general  storekeeper. 

When  building  the  Western  Avenue  yards  in  Chicago 
for  the  Alton  road,  he  had  surprised  his  colleagues  by 
the  amount  of  trackage  he  had  ingeniously  worked  into 
a  limited  area.  Now,  on  the  Milwaukee,  he  further 
elaborated  the  ladder  system  of  tracks  which,  although 
not  originated  by  him,  had  not  previously  been  adopted 
by  that  road. 

He  found  work  peculiarly  to  his  liking  in  seeing 
that  railway  stations  and  buildings  on  the  newly- 
built  portions  of  the  line  were  designed  with  due  re- 
gard for  harmony  and  attractiveness,  as  well  as  for 
economy.  Up  to  that  time  railway  buildings  in  the 
West,  as  elsewhere,  had  been  erected  with  utility  solely 
in  view.  The  palatial  structures  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury would  have  been  regarded  as  chimerical.  Thor- 
oughly imbued  with  a  sense  of  beauty  and  fitness,  as 
well  in  the  common  things  of  life  as  in  the  rare,  Van 
Home  now  found  an  opportunity  to  express  himself  in 
the  character  of  the  railway  structures.  Some  of  the 
designs  which  he  personally  supplied  to  the  Milwaukee 
road  at  this  time  were  used;  others  were  carefully  filed 
away,  to  emerge  twenty-five  years  later  when  the  Puget 
Sound  extension  was  being  built,  when  they  were  de- 
clared by  the  road's  architects  to  be  thoroughly  up-to- 
date  and  more  in  harmony  with  advanced  railroad  con- 
ditions than  any  others  available. 

In  later  years  Van  Home  was  wont  to  tell  two  stories 
of  these  times  which  illustrate,  among  other  things,  the 
autocratic  power  of  railway  managers  in  the  seventies 
and  eighties,  before  the  days  of  Federal  or  state  railroad 
commissions,  and  the  rough-and-tumble  tactics  to  which 
they  frequently  had  recourse. 


Rough-and-Tumble  Tactics  59 

As  general  superintendent  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and  St.  Paul  he  continued  to  be  in  close  touch  with  the 
operations  of  the  Southern  Minnesota,  which  had  been 
absorbed  by  the  former  road.  His  friend  and  divisional 
superintendent,  John  M.  Egan,  was  carrying  out  the 
construction  of  the  extension  in  accordance  with  their 
original  plans.  Flandreau  had  been  chosen  as  a  divi- 
sional point,  and  Egan  was  rushing  the  road  forward  to 
reach  that  place  by  January  i,  1880,  and  thereby  to  earn 
a  substantial  bonus,  which  the  municipality  had  condi- 
tionally promised.  Suddenly  a  heavy  snow  storm  de- 
layed the  track-laying,  and  the  non-arrival  of  steel  rails 
prevented  the  completion  of  the  last  five  miles  into 
Flandreau.  A  few  days  before  the  expiry  of  the 
period  within  which  the  bonus  could  be  earned,  Egan 
ordered  five  miles  of  the  track  further  back  to  be  pulled 
up  and  brought  forward  to  the  terminal.  On  these  a 
locomotive,  to  meet  the  condition  of  the  agreement,  rode 
triumphantly  into  Flandreau  on  the  very  day  the  time 
limit  expired,  the  gap  behind  being  relaid  a  few  months 
later.  The  town  of  Flandreau,  alleging  nonfulfilment 
of  the  contract,  heartlessly  repudiated  its  obligation  to 
pay  the  promised  bonus.  But  in  doing  so  it  forgot  the 
wrath  of  a  general  manager  with  Van  Home  at  his 
elbow.  The  divisional  point — the  most  coveted  distinc- 
tion of  prairie  towns — was  promptly  transferred  to 
Madison ! 

In  the  winter  of  1 880-81  the  Milwaukee  road  was  en- 
deavouring to  secure  possession  of  a  small  railway  called 
the  Chicago,  Rockf ord  and  Northern  and,  after  a  volum- 
inous correspondence,  found  itself  in  the  throes  of  a 
dispute  with  the  receiver  of  the  road.  One  day  Van 
Home  summoned  A.  J.  Earling,  one  of  the  divisional 
superintendents,  and  instructed  him  to  go  out  and  take 


60     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

possession  of  the  road,  at  the  same  time  giving  him  an 
immense  bundle  of  documents  and  correspondence. 
The  bundle,  which  was  far  too  formidable  a  mass  to 
permit  of  any  hurried  unraveling  of  the  facts,  was  to 
constitute  one  of  Earling's  weapons  and  to  be  produced 
as  proof  of  the  Milwaukee's  right  to  the  road.  Earling 
went  off  with  his  bundle  of  papers,  two  locomotives,  and 
twenty  men.  Reaching  the  crossing  of  the  two  roads, 
he  had  the  engines  turned  on  to  the  smaller  one  and 
stood  ready  with  his  men  to  enforce  possession. 

When  the  receiver  endeavoured  to  oust  the  trespas- 
sers and  recover  possession,  he  was  confronted  with  the 
mass  of  documents  and  the  twenty  men.  Ignoring  the 
papers  as  inconsequential  and  finding  himself  unable  to 
move  Earling  by  persuasion,  he  hurried  back  to  Chicago 
for  a  platoon  of  men.  Earling  suspected  his  intention 
and  telegraphed  his  chief  for  more  men.  The  receiver, 
finding  his  platoon  inadequate,  returned  for  still  other 
men.  Van  Home  met  these  with  a  still  greater  force, 
and  the  contest  continued  until  Earling  was  supported 
on  the  ground  by  fully  eight  hundred  men.  Five  or 
six  times  a  day  Earling,  from  his  locomotive  head- 
quarters at  the  crossing,  would  talk  directly  with 
his  chief  over  the  telegraph-wire,  making  reports  and 
receiving  instructions.  At  the  end  of  each  parley  Van 
Home  would  spell  out  emphatically  over  the  wire  the 
strategic  maxim:  "Be  sure  to  have  plenty  of  good  pro- 
visions for  your  men.  As  long  as  you  keep  their  bellies 
full,  they  will  remain  loyal."  Fortified  with  good  food 
against  discontent  and  disloyalty,  Van  Home's  legion 
came  through  a  week  of  threats  and  idleness  with  flying 
colours.  The  Milwaukee  remained  in  possession,  and 
the  courts  subsequently  decided  that  the  two  claimants 
should  have  joint  use  of  the  road. 


James  Jerome  Hill  61 

Among  the  many  men  with  whom  Van  Home's  oper- 
ations brought  him  into  touch  was  James  Jerome  Hill, 
and  in  1880  the  plans  of  the  two  threatened  to  collide. 
Hill  controlled  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Man- 
itoba Railway,  one  of  whose  lines  ran  up  toward  Cana- 
dian territory.  Scanning  the  horizon  for  profitable 
extensions  of  the  Milwaukee  system,  Van  Home  planned 
to  build  a  branch  from  Ortonville  in  Dakota  to  tap  the 
Canadian  territory  to  the  north.  He  had  a  line  sur- 
veyed as  far  as  Moorhead,  which  was  the  American 
terminus  of  Hill's  Red  River  steamers  plying  to  Win- 
nipeg. Hill  and  his  Canadian  associates  regarded 
western  Canada  as  their  own  special  reserve  and  were 
opposed  to  Van  Home's  road  securing  an  entrance  there. 
Hill  met  Van  Home  and  Merrill  to  discuss  the  question 
of  territorial  rights,  but  they  parted  without  coming  to 
any  satisfactory  conclusions.  Van  Home,  however, 
learned  a  great  deal  of  Hill's  plans  and  aspirations  for 
developing  railway  business  with  Canada,  while  Hill 
was  greatly  impressed  by  the  astuteness  of  the  Mil- 
waukee's superintendent  and  his  designs  on  Canadian 
traffic. 

Engaged  himself  in  the  reorganization  and  resuscita- 
tion of  a  moribund  railway,  Hill  was  well  acquainted 
with  Van  Home's  successful  management  of  the  South- 
ern Minnesota  and  with  the  invaluable  services  he  had 
rendered  to  the  Alton  and  Milwaukee  roads.  In  1881 
he  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  his  life.  Up  in  the  wide 
northern  country  that  was  still  represented  on  Amer- 
ican railway  maps  as  a  problematic  white  void,  with 
"British  Possessions"  marked  across  it,  a  great  railway 
was  being  planned.  Hill  was  interested  in  it.  A  rail- 
wayman big  enough  for  the  new  enterprise  was  being 
urgently  sought.  He  unhesitatingly  recommended  Van 


62     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Home  as  the  one  man  capable  of  directing  the  gigantic 
operations. 

Before  following  Van  Home,  however,  on  his  "great 
adventure,"  some  reference  must  be  made  to  his  private 
life  and  the  pursuit  of  his  hobbies  during  the  years  in 
which  he  was  so  rapidly  forcing  his  way  to  the  front. 
He  had  experienced  the  sorrow  of  losing  his  eldest  son, 
William,  who,  born  at  the  time  of  the  Chicago  fire,  died 
at  the  age  of  five ;  but  his  grief  had  been  assuaged  by  the 
birth,  in  1877,  of  a  second  son,  Richard  Benedict,  who 
was  the  last  of  the  three  children  born  to  him. 

The  pressure  of  his  work  at  Milwaukee  caused  him  to 
drop  the  collection  of  fossils  which  he  had  actively  con- 
tinued at  Lacrosse  and  at  Chicago.  In  both  those  cities 
he  often  snatched  half  an  hour  from  a  busy  day  to  dis- 
cuss fossils  with  some  one  who  had,  perhaps,  come  many 
miles  across  the  country  to  sell  him  a  trilobite  or  brachi- 
opod.  All  along  the  lines  he  was  known  as  a  certain 
market  for  fossils.  The  men  working  at  Hokab,  out- 
side Lacrosse,  in  a  limestone  quarry  rich  in  fossils  would 
telegraph  him  whenever  they  uncovered  a  new  stratum. 
As  soon  as  possible  he  would  appear  at  the  quarry  with 
his  hammer,  procure  a  box  of  specimens,  and  find  recrea- 
tion at  night  in  preparing  them  for  his  cabinet.  While 
residing  in  Alton  he  had  been  tantalized  for  weeks  by 
the  sight  of  a  fine  trilobite  embedded  in  a  slab  of  the  city 
pavement.  Day  after  day  he  passed  it,  until  he  could 
no  longer  resist  it.  One  morning  he  came  with  his 
hammer,  deliberately  smashed  into  the  pavement,  and 
carried  the  trilobite  triumphantly  away.  Whenever  he 
moved — and  he  moved  so  often  that  his  mother  said 
they  might  as  well  live  in  a  railway  car — his  specimens 
were  treated  as  jewels  and  carefully  packed  by  himself. 
As  long  as  he  continued  collecting  he  kept  up  correspond- 


Castor-Oil  Beans  and  Hyacinths  63 

ence  with  St.  John  and  other  American  authorities. 
At  Milwaukee  he  was  also  compelled  to  relinquish  the 
hobby  of  gardening,  which  he  had  taken  up  at  Lacrosse 
with  the  determination  of  producing  finer  and  larger 
blooms  than  his  neighbours.  Frequently  he  walked  far 
upon  the  Bluffs  to  get  leaf  mold  for  his  roses.  His 
garden  was  dug,  planted,  and  tended  with  his  own  hands, 
and,  as  it  replaced  his  geological  field-work,  it  gave  him 
the  exercise  and  refreshment  he  needed  after  long  hours 
of  office-work.  He  studied  fertilizers  and  soil-mixers. 
He  admired  particularly  the  castor-oil  bean,  and  by  mass- 
ing a  number  together  and  coaxing  them  to  a  great 
height  he  obtained  an  effect  which  aroused  wonder  and 
admiration.  He  experimented  with  datura  cornucopia, 
and  produced  a  triple  trumpet  flower  at  a  time  when 
anything  more  than  the  double  trumpet  form  was  un- 
known, at  any  rate  in  his  locality.  In  his  love  of  fun 
and  pranks  he  placed  a  superbly  cultivated  skunk-cab- 
bage close  to  the  fence  of  his  nearest  neighbour,  a  clergy- 
man, so  that  the  odour,  the  only  drawback  to  a  beautiful 
plant,  might  excite  alarm  in  the  clergyman's  family. 

His  house  in  Chicago  had  ample  grounds  and  large 
attics  and  cellars.  Some  of  the  latter  were  light  and 
warm,  others  cool  and  dark,  and  their  various  tem- 
peratures were  exceptionally  favourable  to  the  growth 
of  tulips  and  hyacinths.  With  the  idea  that  each  root- 
let should  be  uniformly  developed  to  produce  a  perfect 
spike  of  hyacinths,  he  used  his  warm  and  lighted  spaces 
to  promote  growth,  and  his  dark  and  cool  spaces  to  retard 
it.  In  the  end  his  blossoms  were  of  such  beauty  and 
perfection  that,  years  afterwards,  he  looked  with  scorn 
upon  the  best  that  his  skilled  gardener  in  Montreal  could 
show  him,  with  all  the  advantage  of  a  conservatory  and 
up-to-date  methods. 


CHAPTER  VII 

l88l.      THE     CANADIAN     PACIFIC.       ITS     INCEPTION. 

DONALD  A.  SMITH,  J.  J.  HILL,  GEORGE  STEPHEN,  R.  B. 

ANGUS.       THE    SYNDICATE.      THE    CHARTER. 

IN  order  to  comprehend  the  magnitude  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  task  beckoning  the  young  general 
manager  to  Canada,  some  account  of  the  inception 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  and  its  pur- 
pose is  indispensable. 

When,  in  1867,  the  provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec,  New 
Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Prince  Edward  Island 
were,  with  the  Northwest  Territories,  federated  into  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  the  vast  area  lying  between  Lake 
Huron  and  the  Pacific  coast  was  little  more  than  a  wil- 
derness. Almost  the  only  white  settlers  in  this  Great 
Lone  Land  were  the  employees  and  dependents  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whose  trading  posts  were  scat- 
tered throughout  the  Northwest  at  great  distances  from 
one  another.  The  principal  post  was  at  Fort  Garry, 
now  the  city  of  Winnipeg,  which  in  1871  had  a  popula- 
tion of  only  three  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  The  great 
mountain  ranges  completely  isolated  the  colonists  on  the 
Pacific  from  the  prairies  and  eastern  Canada.  A  small 
but  prosperous  community  had  grown  up  on  Vancouver 
Island,  which  had  steamship  communication  with  Amer- 
ican ports  on  the  Pacific  but  no  means  of  access  to  the 
lands  lying  east  of  the  Rockies  or,  indeed,  to  the  interior 
of  British  Columbia.  They  had  long  keenly  felt  the 
need  of  closer  communication  with  other  parts  of  British 

64 


Canada's  Railway  Needs  65 

North  America,  and  their  interest  in  obtaining  it  had 
been  quickened  by  the  discovery,  in  1858,  of  gold  in  the 
Cariboo  District.  From  Quebec  and  Ontario  the  North- 
west could  be  reached  only  by  a  circuitous  journey  by 
rail  and  stage  through  Chicago  and  St.  Paul  or  by  rail 
and  steamer  to  Port  Arthur,  and  thence  by  saddle-horse, 
wagon,  and  canoe. 

For  many  years  prior  to  Confederation  the  imagina- 
tion of  engineers  and  promoters,  as  well  as  of  politicians, 
had  been  held  by  the  vision  of  "clamping  all  British 
North  America  with  an  iron  band,"  and  several  ineffec- 
tual attempts  had  been  made  to  obtain  charters  and  sub- 
sidies for  such  a  road.  After  Confederation  and  the 
acquisition  of  the  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
in  the  Northwest  Territories,  the  construction  of  an 
overland  railway  speedily  assumed  the  aspect  of  a  na- 
tional necessity.  The  spirit  of  national  unity  which  had 
led  to  the  union  of  the  Canadas  and  the  Maritime  Prov- 
inces was  intensified  by  the  first  trial  of  the  strength  of 
the  young  Dominion  when  it  was  faced,  in  1870,  with 
the  task  of  crushing  the  Kiel  rebellion.  The  fact  that 
it  took  ninety-five  days  to  transport  troops  from  Toronto 
to  Fort  Garry  over  the  best,  if  not  the  only  possible, 
route  brought  home  more  forcibly  than  anything  else 
could  have  done  the  need  of  a  western  road.  Moreover, 
several  railways — the  Central  Pacific,  the  Union  Pacific, 
the  Southern  Pacific,  and  the  Northern  Pacific — were 
either  being  promoted  or  in  process  of  actual  construc- 
tion in  the  United  States,  and  the  Canadian  people, 
though  few  in  number  and  poor  in  all  but  undeveloped 
natural  resources,  were  stirred  by  ambition  to  emulate 
their  powerful  neighbours. 

These,  briefly,  were  the  conditions  when  long-pending 
negotiations  terminated,  in  1871,  in  the  incorporation  of 


66     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

British  Columbia  with  the  Canadian  federation,  upon 
the  express  stipulation  that  the  Dominion  within  two 
years  would  begin,  and  within  ten  years  complete,  a 
railway  linking  up  the  new  province  with  eastern  Can- 
ada. 

The  fulfilment  of  this  obligation  by  a  nation  of  four 
million  people  and  small  means  was  felt  to  be  a  tre- 
mendous undertaking.  The  cost  of  the  road  would  be 
at  least  $100,000,000,  and  the  engineering  difficulties 
were  stupendous.  It  was  not  known  that  a  railway 
could  pierce  the  Rockies ;  indeed,  Captain  Palliser,  a  com- 
petent explorer  and  engineer,  had  declared  after  four 
years'  labour  in  the  field  that  a  transcontinental  line 
could  not  be  built  exclusively  on  British  territory.  The 
Opposition,  therefore,  had  sound  reasons  for  protesting 
against  any  attempt  to  complete  the  railway  within  the 
stipulated  ten  years.  The  government  of  Sir  John  Mac- 
donald,  however,  was  determined  to  redeem  its  pledge 
to  British  Columbia,  and  decided  that  the  road  should 
be  built  by  a  company,  aided  by  liberal  subsidies  in  cash 
and  in  land.  Sandford  Fleming,  a  distinguished  engi- 
neer and  explorer,  was  appointed  to  make  a  survey  and 
report,  if  possible,  a  feasible  route. 

It  had  been  decided  that  the  railway  should  begin  at 
some  point  on  Lake  Nipissing.  A  vivid  description  of 
the  country  to  be  traversed  has  been  given  by  Professor 
Oscar  D.  Skelton  in  "The  Railway  Builders" : 

From  Nipissing  nearly  to  the  Red  River  there  stretched  a  thou- 
sand miles  of  woodland,  rugged  and  rock-strewn,  covered  by  a 
network  of  countless  lakes  and  rivers,  interspersed  with  seemingly 
bottomless  swamps  or  muskegs — a  wilderness  which  no  white 
man  had  ever  passed  through  from  end  to  end.  Then  came  the 
level  prairie  and  a  great  rolling  plain  rising  to  the  southwest  in 
three  successive  steppes,  and  cut  by  deep  watercourses.  But  it 
was  the  third  or  mountain  section  which  presented  the  most  serious 


British  Columbia's  Mountains  67 

engineering  difficulties.  Four  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  roughly  parallel,  ran  the  towering  Rocky  Mountains, 
some  of  whose  peaks  rose  fifteen  thousand  feet.  Beyond 
stretched  a  vast  plateau,  three  thousand  feet  above  sea-level,  in- 
tersected by  rivers  which  had  cut  deep  chasms  or,  to  the  north- 
ward, wide  sheltered  valleys.  Between  this  plateau  and  the  coast 
the  Cascades  interposed,  rivalling  the  Rockies  in  height  and  rising 
sheer  from  the  ocean,  which  thrust  in  deep  fiord  channels.  At 
the  head  of  some  one  of  these  fiords  must  be  found  the  western 
terminus.  Early  in  the  survey  a  practical  route  was  found 
throughout.  Striking  across  the  wilderness  from  Lake  Nipissing 
to  Lake  Superior,  .  .  .  the  line  might  skirt  the  shore  of  the  Lake 
to  Fort  William,  or  it  might  run  northerly  through  what  is  now 
known  as  the  claybelt,  with  Fort  William  and  the  lake  made 
accessible  by  a  branch.  Continuing  westward  to  the  Red  River 
at  Selkirk,  with  Winnipeg  on  a  branch  line  to  the  south,  the 
projected  line  crossed  Lake  Manitoba  at  the  Narrows,  and  then 
struck  out  northwesterly  through  what  was  then  termed  the  "Fer- 
tile Belt"  till  the  Yellowhead  Pass  was  reached.  Then  the  Rockies 
could  be  easily  pierced ;  but  once  through,  the  engineer  was  faced 
by  the  huge  flanking  range  of  the  Cariboo  Mountains,  in  which 
repeated  explorations  failed  to  find  a  gap.  But  at  the  foot  of  the 
towering  barrier  lay  a  remarkable,  deep-set  valley  four  hundred 
miles  in  length,  in  which  northwestward  ran  the  Fraser  and 
southeastward  the  Canoe  and  the  Columbia.  By  following  the 
Fraser  to  its  great  southward  bend,  and  then  striking  west,  a 
terminus  on  Bute  or  Dean  Inlet  might  be  reached,  while  the  valley 
of  the  Canoe  and  the  Albreda  would  give  access  to  the  North 
Thompson  as  far  as  Kamloops,  whence  the  road  might  run  down 
the  Thompson  and  the  lower  Fraser  to  Burrard  Inlet.  The  latter 
route,  on  the  whole,  was  preferred. 

Sir  Hugh  Allan  of  Montreal,  the  chief  owner  of  the 
Allan  Steamship  Line  and  a  man  of  wealth  and  high 
business  reputation,  was  induced  to  come  forward  with 
an  offer  to  build  the  railway.  Shortly  afterwards  a 
company  was  organized  by  D.  L.  Macpherson  and  other 
Toronto  capitalists  for  the  same  purpose.  The  govern- 
ment sought,  without  success,  to  effect  an  amalgama- 


68     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

tion  of  the  rival  organizations,  with  Allan  as  president. 
Following  the  general  election  of  1872,  a  charter  was 
granted  to  a  new  company  organized  by  Allan,  but  it 
fell  through  when  it  was  disclosed  in  Parliament  that  he 
had  contributed  a  large  sum  of  money  to  Sir  John's  elec- 
tion funds ;  and  the  Premier  and  his  ministry  felt  obliged 
to  relinquish  office. 

The  new  government,  under  the  leadership  of  Alex- 
ander Mackenzie,  after  vainly  endeavouring  to  induce 
other  capitalists  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  decided  to 
make  it  a  government  work  and  construct  it  bit  by  bit 
as  settlement  and  the  public  funds  might  warrant.  Con- 
tracts were  let  for  small  sections  of  the  road:  one  from 
Port  Arthur  westward  towards  Selkirk;  and  another 
from  Selkirk  to  Emerson  on  the  international  boundary, 
where  it  could  connect  with  an  American  line,  the  St. 
Paul  and  Pacific,  controlled  by  J.  J.  Hill  and  his  Cana- 
dian associates.  Substantial  but  slow  progress  was 
made  on  these  two  sections,  and  efforts  were  made  to 
obtain  from  British  Columbia  an  extension  of  the  time 
for  the  completion  of  the  road.  Nothing,  however,  was 
being  done  on  the  Pacific  coast;  the  colonists  were  pro- 
testing against  the  long  delay  and  threatening  to  with- 
draw from  confederation.  So  clamant  were  they  that 
the  amiable  and  eloquent  Lord  Dufferin  went  out  to  the 
coast  to  assure  them  of  the  anxiety  of  everyone  con- 
cerned to  build  the  road.  They  received  him  hospitably, 
declined  the  offer  of  a  wagon-road  in  place  of  a  railway, 
and  promptly  renewed  their  protests  and  their  threat. 

In  1878  Sir  John  Macdonald  was  swept  back  into 
power  on  a  policy  of  protection  of  national  industries, 
and -continued  for  two  years  the  work  begun  by  his  pred- 
ecessor. Contracts  were  let  for  the  completion  of  the 
line  between  Port  Arthur  and  Selkirk  and  its  exten- 


Sir  John  Macdonald  and  the  C.  P.  Ry.          69 

sion  to  Winnipeg,  and  for  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles  from  the  last  named  point.  A  contract  was 
also  made  for  the  section  between  Yale  and  Savona's 
Ferry,  near  Kamloops,  after  it  had  been  decided  to 
follow  the  route  adopted  by  the  Mackenzie  government 
through  the  Yellowhead  Pass,  down  the  Thompson  and 
the  Fraser  to  Port  Moody  on  Burrard  Inlet. 

The  ten  years  stipulated  for  the  completion  of  the 
road  had  nearly  expired,  and  owing  to  financial  depres- 
sion, changes  of  government  and  policy,  disputes  as  to 
route  and  terminus,  little  had  been  accomplished.  Sir 
John  Macdonald  was  advised  that  the  road  could  be  more 
expeditiously  and  advantageously  built  by  a  private  com- 
pany, and  became  converted  to  the  wisdom  of  that  policy. 
At  the  suggestion  of  his  colleague,  John  Henry  Pope,  he 
turned  to  a  remarkable  group  of  Canadians  who  had 
achieved  phenomenal  success  in  the  reorganization  of  a 
small  railway  in  Minnesota  and  had  laid  the  foundations 
of  great  individual  fortunes.  Of  their  association  in 
that  enterprise  an  interesting  story  is  told,  which  illus- 
trates upon  how  slender  a  thread  hangs  the  destiny  of 
men. 

Donald  A.  Smith  was  a  frugal,  ambitious,  and  tena- 
cious Scotchman  who,  emigrating  to  Canada  in  his  early 
youth,  had  risen  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany to  the  important  position  of  chief  commissioner. 
His  long  service  with  that  company  had  brought  him  an 
unequalled  knowledge  of  the  Northwest,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  annual  visits  to  the  East  he  passed  through 
St.  Paul,  where  he  met  and  discussed  the  railway  situa- 
tion with  two  Canadians,  Norman  W.  Kittson,  a  former 
Hudson's  Bay  factor,  and  James  J.  Hill,  who  had  gone 
in  his  boyhood  from  an  Ontario  farm  to  St.  Paul  and 
was  carrying  on  a  business  in  coal  and  wood.  Kittson 


70     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  Hill  were  interested  in  a  Red  River  transportation 
company  and  were  casting  covetous  eyes  upon  the  St. 
Paul  and  Pacific  Railway.  This  small  line,  of  a  scant 
three  hundred  miles  in  length  and  running  through  St. 
Paul  to  a  point  on  the  Red  River,  was  in  desperate 
plight.  Its  Dutch  bondholders  in  1873  had  thrown  it 
into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  and  its  prospects  were  so 
unfavourably  regarded  that  the  bonds  were  practically 
unmarketable.  Hill  and  Kittson,  having  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  railway  situation  and  a  firm  faith  in 
the  future  of  the  country,  were  convinced  that  the  road 
could  be  built  up  into  a  highly  profitable  property,  and 
Smith  soon  shared  their  convictions.  The  necessary 
capital,  however,  was  lacking.  During  his  visits  to 
Montreal  Smith  frequently  spoke  of  Hill  and  his  plans 
to  his  cousin,  George  Stephen,  another  Scotchman  and  a 
highly  successful  merchant  and  manufacturer  who  was 
appointed  in  1876  the  president  of  the  Bank  of  Mon- 
treal, and  to  Richard  B.  Angus,  yet  another  Scotch- 
Canadian,  who  was  general  manager  of  the  same  bank. 
He  introduced  Hill  to  Stephen  in  1877,  and  ^  was  ar~ 
ranged  to  ascertain  the  price  at  which  the  Dutch  would 
sell  their  bonds. 

In  September,  1877,  Stephen  and  Angus  were  obliged 
to  visit  Chicago  on  legal  business  of  the  bank.  One  of 
the  law's  delays  left  them  with  a  few  free  days  on  their 
hands,  and  they  decided  to  visit  some  other  city. 
Stephen  wanted  to  see  St.  Louis,  but  Angus  said,  "No, 
let  us  go  to  St.  Paul  and  see  this  man  Hill  about  whom 
and  his  railroad  Donald  Smith  is  always  talking." 
Each  adhering  to  his  wish,  they  agreed  to  abide  by  the 
fall  of  a  coin.  The  coin  said  St.  Paul,  and  to  St.  Paul 
and  James  J.  Hill  they  went.  A  trip  over  the  St.  Paul 
and  Pacific  line  dispelled  Stephen's  doubts  concerning 


The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Syndicate        71 

its  prospects  and  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  syndi- 
cate, of  which  John  S.  Kennedy,  a  New  York  banker 
who  had  been  agent  for  the  bondholders,  subsequently 
became  a  member.  The  Dutch  interests  were  acquired, 
the  mortgage  foreclosed,  and  the  road  reorganized  as 
the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba — destined  to 
develop  in  the  following  decade  into  the  Great  North- 
ern Railroad. 

Sir  John  Macdonald  could  not  have  approached  any 
men  better  able  to  undertake  the  construction  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific.  Their  own  road  touched  the  Cana- 
dian boundary,  their  steamers  plied  the  Red  River  to 
Winnipeg,  and  they  had  a  first-hand  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  the  West  and  western  railways.  Donald 
Smith,  particularly,  had  been  for  many  years  a  most 
active  protagonist  of  a  Pacific  railroad,  but  all  the  Cana- 
dians in  the  group  were  actuated  by  a  strong  desire  to 
promote  the  development  of  Canada.  Stephen  was  the 
most  reluctant,  but  yielded  when  he  was  assured  that 
the  burdens  of  management  would  fall  on  other  shoul- 
ders. Duncan  Mclntyre,  another  Montreal  merchant, 
who  controlled  the  Canada  Central,  running  from  Brock- 
ville  through  Ottawa  to  Pembroke  and  under  construc- 
tion from  that  point  to  Callander,  the  eastern  terminus 
of  the  projected  Canadian  Pacific  main  line,  also  agreed 
to  join  the  syndicate.  The  government  leaders  went, 
with  Stephen  and  Mclntype,  to  London  to  seek  capital. 
They  failed  to  interest  the  Rothschilds  or  the  Barings. 
The  president  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  Sir  Henry  Tyler, 
offered  to  build  the  road  if  a  line  through  American 
territory  south  of  the  Lake  were  substituted  for  the 
Lake  Superior  section,  a  condition  which  the  government 
refused  to  accept.  Eventually,  a  firm  of  Paris  bankers 
and  Morton,  Rose  and  Co.  of  London,  on  behalf  of 


72     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

themselves  and  their  New  York  house,  Morton,  Bliss 
and  Co.,  entered  the  syndicate. 

A  contract  was  executed  between  the  government  and 
the  syndicate  in  October,  1880.  In  consideration  of  the 
company  undertaking  to  build  the  road  within  ten  years, 
the  government  covenanted  to  grant  all  lands  required 
for  its  roadbed,  stations,  workshops,  buildings,  yards, 
dock-grounds  and  waterfrontage,  and  to  subsidize  the 
company  with  $25,000,000  in  cash  and  25,000,000  acres 
of  land,  to  be  selected  in  alternate  sections  along  the  line 
of  the  railway  in  the  Northwest  Territories,  and  all  to 
be  fit  for  settlement.  The  company  and  its  property 
were  to  be  forever  free  from  Dominion  or  provincial 
taxation,  and  the  subsidy-lands  until  they  were  either 
sold  or  occupied.  The  contract  stipulated  that  for 
twenty  years  no  line  of  railway  should  be  authorized  by 
the  Dominion  Parliament  to  run  south  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  except  such  line  should  run  southwest 
or  westward  of  southwest,  nor  to  within  fifteen  miles  of 
latitude  49°.  The  company  was  to  have  unusual  powers 
to  construct  branch  lines  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
railway;  to  establish  lines  of  steamers  at  its  termini;  and 
to  construct  and  work  telegraph  lines  for  business  of  the 
public,  as  well  as  for  its  own  business.  The  portions 
of  the  railway  already  completed  by  the  government — 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of  main  line 
from  Winnipeg  to  Rat  Portage  and  a  branch  line  sixty- 
five  miles  in  length  from  Winnipeg  southward  to  Emer- 
son— were  to  be  transferred  to  the  company.  The  gov- 
ernment further  undertook  to  complete  and  transfer  free 
of  charge  three  hundred  miles  of  main  line  from  Rat 
Portage  eastward  to  Thunder  Bay  on  Lake  Superior, 
and  two  hundred  and  thirteen  miles  from  Port  Moody, 
the  Pacific  terminus,  eastward  to  Kamloops.  The  cap- 


The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Charter         73 

ital  stock  of  the  company  was  fixed  at  $100,000,000,  and 
the  company  was  authorized  to  issue  bonds  on  the  secu- 
rity of  its  land-grant  to  the  amount  of  $25,000,000. 

Ratification  of  the  contract  was  bitterly  opposed  by 
the  Liberal  party,  led  by  Edward  Blake,  who  denounced 
the  contract  as  extravagant  and  certain  to  involve  dis- 
aster. They  contended  strongly  for  a  route  running 
from  Sault  Ste.  Marie  through  Michigan  and  Minne- 
sota instead  of  north  of  Lake  Superior.  They  argued 
that  such  a  modification  would  bring  to  Montreal  traffic 
from  the  American,  as  well  as  the  Canadian,  West.  An 
all-Canadian  line  should  be  postponed  until  warranted  by 
western  settlement  and  traffic.  A  rival  and,  it  was  al- 
leged by  government  adherents,  a  sham  syndicate, 
headed  by  Sir  William  Rowland,  was  hastily  organized. 
This  syndicate  offered  to  build  the  road  projected  by  the 
government  for  lower  subsidies  and  to  forego  the  monop- 
oly clause  and  tax  exemptions.  The  Opposition  was 
outvoted;  the  contract  was  duly  ratified  by  Parliament; 
and  the  company  was  incorporated  in  February,  1881. 

The  character  of  the  country  to  be  traversed  by  the 
railway  was  not  without  some  alluring  prospects.  For 
some  distance  east  of  Lake  Nipissing  the  road  lay  for 
the  most  part  through  an  old  and  well  developed  coun- 
try and  commanded  the  immense  lumber  traffic  of  the 
Ottawa  Valley.  The  Lake  Superior  section  to  Win- 
nipeg ran  through  many  forests  of  valuable  timber  and 
through  mineral  lands  abounding  in  iron  and  copper. 
Between  Winnipeg  and  the  foot-hills  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  a  stretch  of  nine  hundred  miles,  lay  one  of 
the  finest  agricultural  regions  in  the  world,  and  in  this 
district  nearly  the  entire  land  grant  of  the  company 
was  located.  Coal,  to  the  extent  of  at  least  40,000 
square  miles,  was  found  to  underlie  the  southern  and 


74     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

western  portions  of  this  prairie  section.  The  section 
between  the  Rockies  and  the  Cascade  Mountains  had 
not  been  thoroughly  explored,  but  coal  was  known,  and 
valuable  minerals  were  believed,  to  exist  there;  while 
on  the  Pacific  slope  there  were  immense  forests  of 
Douglas  fir  and  other  valuable  timber,  with  extensive 
coal  fields  in  which  development  had  already  been  begun. 
The  coast  region,  besides  affording  admirable  facilities 
for  shipping  and  navigation  and  an  inexhaustible  supply 
of  fish,  contained  much  fine  land  suitable  for  agricul- 
ture, grazing,  or  fruit-growing. 

Immediately  upon  the  issue  of  the  charter,  the  com- 
pany was  organized  under  the  presidency  of  Stephen. 
The  Canada  Central  was  absorbed,  and  the  directors 
decided  to  proceed  without  delay  with  the  construction 
of  a  branch  from  Callander  to  cross  the  River  St.  Mary 
at  the  Sault.  Headquarters  was  established  at  Winni- 
peg and  operations  were  begun  under  the  direction  of 
A.  B.  Stickney,  who  afterwards  became  president  of  the 
Chicago  Great  Western.  But  a  man  of  great  driving 
power  was  the  need  of  the  hour.  Stephen  turned  to  Hill, 
who  strongly  recommended  Van  Home,  because  of  all 
the  men  he  knew  Van  Home  was  "altogether  the  best 
equipped,  mentally  and  in  every  other  way.  A  pioneer 
was  needed,  and  the  more  of  a  pioneer  the  better." 

"You  need,"  said  Hill,  "a  man  of  great  mental  and 
physical  power  to  carry  this  line  through.  Van  Home 
can  do  it.  But  he  will  take  all  the  authority  he  gets 
and  more,  so  define  how  much  you  want  him  to  have." 

The  salary  offered  by  Stephen  was  the  largest  that 
had  ever  been  given  to  a  railwayman  in  the  West. 
Tempting  it  had  to  be,  for  the  success  of  a  transconti- 
nental line  through  the  comparatively  barren  lands  of 
Canada  was  extremely  problematical,  and  the  railway- 


Van  Home  Goes  to  Canada  J$ 

man  who  undertook  it  was  risking  his  reputation  and 
his  career.  For  Van  Home  the  risk  was  real  and 
substantial,  for  none  stood  higher  in  the  railway  world 
or  had  better  prospects  of  advancement.  Before  he 
gave  his  answer  he  slipped  quietly  up  to  Winnipeg  with 
Hill  and  drove  a  long  distance  over  the  plains  to  see  the 
country  for  himself.  He  was  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  quality  of  the  grain  he  saw  in  the  fields,  with 
the  unusually  large  vegetables,  and  with  the  abundant 
crops  grown  by  the  Red  River  settlers.  Satisfied  with 
the  promise  of  the  land  he  was  specially  attracted  by  the 
other  aspects  of  the  enterprise.  The  task  was  the 
execution  of  the  greatest  railway  project  ever  under- 
taken in  any  part  of  the  world.  The  natural  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  were  unparalleled.  The  very  immensity 
of  the  work,  with  all  its  difficulties  and  uncertainties, 
challenged  his  fighting  instincts  and  offered  the  greatest 
opportunity  that  could  ever  come  to  him  of  satisfying 
his  master  passion,  "to  make  things  grow  and  put  new 
places  on  the  map." 

He  returned  to  Milwaukee  to  resign  from  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  and  to  accept  Stephen's  offer. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

l882.  WINNIPEG.  THE  LAKE  SUPERIOR  SECTION. 
HILL'S  WITHDRAWAL.  KICKING  HORSE  PASS.  MA- 
JOR ROGERS.  T.  G.  SHAUGHNESSY.  ORGANIZATION 
AND  CONSTRUCTION.  VAN  HORNE's  DRIVING  FORCE. 
REMOVAL  TO  MONTREAL. 

LEAVING  his  family  behind  him  in  Milwaukee, 
Van  Home  arrived  in  Winnipeg  on  December 
31,  1 88 1,  bringing  with  him  as  general  superin- 
tendent of  the  western  division,  his  Minnesota  colleague, 
Egan.  The  temperature  was  forty  degrees  below  zero, 
but  the  city  was  enjoying  the  gaieties  of  the  New  Year. 
He  began  his  work  in  small  temporary  quarters  over 
the  office  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal.  His  welcome  had 
something  of  the  chilliness  of  the  Manitoba  frosts. 
Among  his  own  people  on  the  Milwaukee  he  had  had  to 
overcome  the  natural  objection  of  a  clannish  personnel 
to  the  intrusion  of  a  leader  from  another  camp.  Here 
in  Winnipeg  and  Canada  his  reception  was  coloured  by 
the  underlying"  national  antagonism  that  prevailed  on 
both  sides  of  the  border.  The  reluctance  of  the  Cana- 
dians and  the  British  on  the  company's  staff  to  pass 
under  the  direction  of  a  "Yankee"  found  expression  in 
the  Opposition  press,  which  attacked  the  company  for 
entrusting  the  construction  of  the  railway  to  an  "alien," 
and  the  government  for  allowing  it.  Abhorring  graft 
and  dishonesty  in  every  form,  he  was  able  at  an  early 
stage  to  discover  and  stop  leaks  in  a  rather  lax  organiza- 
tion which  were  sapping  the  life  of  the  enterprise.  He 

76 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          77 

dispensed,  swiftly  and  without  caring  whose  feelings 
were  hurt,  with  the  services  of  all  officers  and  agents 
whom  he  found  to  be  using  the  company  for  the  further- 
ance of  their  own  fortunes.  These  stern  measures,  cul- 
minating in  the  prompt  dismissal  of  a  popular  official 
who  was  engaged  in  an  ambitious  scheme  to  buy  town- 
sites  along  the  line  of  the  railway  in  the  interests  of  a 
group  of  speculators,  did  not  lighten  the  atmosphere  of 
hostility  and  criticism.  Some  echoes  of  this  unfriendli- 
ness found  their  way  back  to  his  friends  in  the  western 
states,  who  sent  him  indignant  messages,  urging  him  to 
'leave  them  to  build  their  own  road  and  come  back  here 
to  your  friends." 

If  this  unfriendliness  did  not  speedily  give  way  to 
cordiality,  he  himself  was  largely  to  blame.  If  his  new 
associates  did  not  know  him,  neither  did  he  know  them 
or  their  ways,  and  his  blunt  outspokenness  was  apt  to  jar 
upon  the  nerves  of  men  unused  to  the  vernacular  of 
western  American  railwaymen.  The  professional  men, 
the  civil  engineers,  were  especially  ruffled  by  his  undis- 
guised disrespect  for  their  opinions.  Let  one  of  them 
bear  witness — J.  H.  E.  Secretary  who,  he  once  remarked, 
was  the  best  locating  engineer  he  had  ever  known. 

Van  Home  was  a  great  man  with  a  gigantic  intellect,  a  generous 
soul,  and  an  enormous  capacity  both  for  food  and  work  .  .  .  but 
we  did  not  like  him  when  he  first  came  up  to  Winnipeg  as  Gen- 
eral Boss  of  Everybody  and  Everything.  His  ways  were  not 
our  ways,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  let  us  know  what  he  thought 
of  us.  ...  At  first  he  had  little  use  for  our  Englishmen  and 
Canadians,  especially  the  engineers,  and  he  told  me  once,  "If  I 
could  only  teach  a  sectionman  to  run  a  transit,  I  would  n't  have  a 
single  damn  engineer  about  the  place." 

Van  Home  was  too  big  and  far  too  busy  a  man  to  be 
much  disturbed  by  the  character  of  his  reception.  As 


78     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

the  days  slipped  by,  closer  contact  brought  understand- 
ing which  ripened  into  mutual  respect  and  liking.  His 
"amazing  versatility  and  his  knowledge — it  seemed — of 
everything"  won  the  admiration  of  his  fellow  workers; 
and  in  the  end,  his  personality,  with  its  heartiness,  its 
swing,  its  magnetism,  brought  them  irresistibly  to  a 
loyal  and  devoted  acceptance  of  his  leadership. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Winnipeg  he  went  east  to 
Ottawa  and  Montreal  and  met  the  company's  president 
and  directors  and  other  prominent  Canadians.  This 
visit  saw  the  beginning  of  a  -close-knit,  confidential,  and 
abiding  friendship  between  himself  and  Stephen. 
Thereafter  these  two  men  were  to  be  the  great  force 
behind  the  enterprise. 

Among  all  the  members  of  the  syndicate,  Hill  was 
the  only  one  with  actual  experience  of  railway  manage- 
ment, and  Stephen  and  his  colleagues  had  naturally 
looked  to  him  for  advice  on  all  matters  pertaining  to 
construction  and  operation.  Now  he  was  to  be  displaced 
by  Van  Home.  It  was  impossible  for  two  men  so  rest- 
lessly ambitious  and  so  masterful  to  work  harmoniously 
side  by  side.  Moreover,  their  interests  were  divergent, 
and  a  difference  speedily  arose  between  them. 

At  the  inception  of  the  syndicate  Hill  and  Stephen 
formed  the  opinion  that  the  Lake  Superior  section  could 
not  profitably  be  operated,  and  should  not  be  constructed, 
in  any  event,  as  early  as  the  remainder  of  the  line.  In 
the  meantime  they  projected  a  connection  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  with  a  branch  of  Hill's  road,  the  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
apolis and  Manitoba,  in  which  they  had  so  great  a  stake. 
To  effect  that  connection  they  had,  upon  the  organi- 
zation of  the  company,  decided  to  build  a  branch  from 
the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  at  Callander  to  the 
Sault.  It  is  beyond  question  that  Hill  would  never  have 


J.  /.  Hill  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway     79 

joined  the  syndicate  if  he  had  not  counted  upon  his 
American  road  benefiting,  through  this  connection  and 
for  many  years  to  come,  from  the  haulage  of  through 
Canadian  traffic.     He  anticipated  that  the  connection 
would  give  him  virtual  control  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
The  construction  of  the  Lake  Superior  section,  affording 
a  continuous  line  through  Canada  from  Montreal  and 
Ottawa  to  the  Pacific,  would  not  only  frustrate  his  plans 
for  the  future,  but  would  deprive  his  road  of  the  east- 
bound  Canadian  traffic  it  already  enjoyed.     He  there- 
fore vehemently  opposed  it.     The  view  that  construction 
of  the  section  should  be  deferred  until  warranted  by 
western  settlement  and  traffic  was  very  generally  held. 
It  had  been  urged,  it  will  be  remembered,  by  Blake  and 
the  Liberal  party.     It  had  been  adopted  by  the  Macken- 
zie government  which  had,  however,  planned  to  trans- 
port passengers  and  freight  across  the  Great  Lakes  by 
steamer,  rather  than  send  them  around  through  Amer- 
ican territory.     Sir  John  Macdonald  and  his  vigorous 
chief  lieutenant,  Sir  Charles  Tupper,  had  all  along  con- 
tended, and  were  disposed  to  insist,  that  the  line  and 
the  routing  of  traffic  should  be  confined  within  Canadian 
boundaries.     The    government    leaders     found    their 
strongest  advocate  in  Van  Home.     Advancing  the  idea 
of  a  route  skirting  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior  to 
Thunder  Bay  and  the  utilization  of  water  transportation 
to  overcome  the  immense  difficulty  of  providing  supplies, 
he  declared  that  the  difficult  lake  section  could  be  built 
and  profitably  operated.     His  vision  had  immediately 
fastened  upon  the  value  of  a  through  traffic  which  would 
make  the  railway  independent  of  local  traffic  from  the 
rocky,  uninhabitable  lake  region,  while  the  thought  of 
an  intermediary  connection  with  a  road  controlled  by 
Hill  was  as  repellent  to  his  railway  sense  as  to  his  per- 


8o     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

sonal  feelings.  He  was  positive  in  the  opinion  that  the 
line  should  go  straight  through  Canada  from  coast  to 
coast,  and  that  the  sooner  and  the  straighter  it  went 
through,  the  better  it  would  be  for  everyone.  This 
course  was  promptly  adopted  by  the  directors,  new  sur- 
veys were  arranged,  and  before  the  close  of  1882  some 
progress  was  being  made  in  construction.  Hill,  in- 
tensely chagrined  and  disappointed  by  the  decision,  with- 
drew from  the  company  early  in  1883  and  sold  out  his 
stock.  He  was  shortly  afterwards  followed  by  Ken- 
nedy. 

Another  matter  of  extreme  importance  was  settled 
during  Van  Home's  visit.  The  company's  charter  had 
stipulated  that  the  railway  should  cross  the  Rockies  by 
the  Yellowhead  Pass,  and  the  route  chosen  by  Sandf ord 
Fleming  across  the  prairies  from  Selkirk  to  the  Pass  ran 
northwesterly  and  roughly  through  the  valley  of  the 
North  Saskatchewan.  The  company  had  decided  early 
in  1 88 1  to  adopt  a  far  more  southerly  route,  which  was 
a  hundred  miles  shorter  and  would  be  likely  to  prevent 
the  construction  at  a  later  period  of  a  rival  road  to  the 
south.  The  southerly  route  would  bring  the  line  to  the 
Kicking  Horse  or  Hector  Pass,  rather  than  to  the  Yel- 
lowhead. Here,  however,  they  were  confronted  by  a 
great  difficulty.  Between  the  Kicking  Horse  and  the 
Gold  Range  rose  the  giant  Selkirks.  Major  Rogers,  an 
able  American  engineer  engaged  by  Hill,  who  spent  the 
summer  of  1 88 1  in  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  range, 
was  confident  he  could  find  a  way  through;  but  so  far 
none  had  been  discovered.  The  weight  of  engineering 
opinion  favoured  the  Yellowhead  Pass,  which  offered  a 
route  of  easy  grades  and  few  difficulties  of  construction. 
Van  Home  unhesitatingly  threw  the  weight  of  his  faith 


Rogers  Pass  81 

in  favour  of  the  Kicking  Horse,  and  the  directors  deter- 
mined to  take  a  chance  and  construct  the  road  through 
to  that  point.  If  no  way  was  found  through  the  Sel- 
kirks,  the  road,  after  piercing  the  Rockies,  could  make 
a  detour  along  the  curving  Columbia.  They  were  not 
kept  long  in  doubt,  for  a  few  months  later,  in  July,  1882, 
Major  Rogers  discovered  a  difficult  but  available  pass 
which  has  since  borne  his  name.  Rogers  and  his  transit 
man,  a  hard-bitten  Rocky  Mountain  engineer  named 
Carrol,  had  been  five  days  up  the  South  Fork  of  the 
Illecillewaet,  and  were  camping  one  night  at  the  foot  of 
the  great  glacier.  Their  supplies  were  down  to  a  dog 
tent,  five  plugs  of  chewing  tobacco,  four  beans,  and  a 
slab  of  sourbelly.  Rogers,  pointing  to  the  shoulder  of 
a  distant  peak,  now  called  Mt.  Macdonald,  said  they 
would  probably  find  a  pass  there,  and  it  would  only  take 
two  or  three  days  to  find  out.  After  ruminating  for  a 
few  moments,  Carrol  said,  "Well,  it  may  be  all  right  for 
you,  Major,  but  we  've  eaten  our  last  bannock.  You  may 
be  willing  to  die  for  glory,  but  how  about  me?"  The 
Major  thought  a  while  and  then  said,  "I  '11  tell  you  what 
I  '11  do,  Carrol.  If  that  pass  is  there  I  '11  name  that 
mountain  after  you,"  pointing  to  what  for  many  years 
was  known  as  Mt.  Carrol,  but  is  now  known  as  Mt. 
Tupper.  They  found  the  pass,  coming  through  more 
dead  than  alive. 

Van  Home  used  to  tell  an  interesting  story  of  this 
typical  westerner,  a  Yale  graduate  who  dressed  like  a 
frontiersman;  who  loved  solitude,  poetry,  and  tobacco 
in  all  its  various  forms;  and  who  explored  for  the  joy 
of  exploring  and  not  for  any  material  gains.  Follow- 
ing a  custom  of  American  railroads,  the  company  re- 
warded him  for  his  great  service  in  discovering  the  pass 


82     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

with  a  cheque  for  five  thousand  dollars.  Meeting  him 
a  year  afterwards  in  Winnipeg,  Van  Home  reminded 
him  that  the  cheque  had  not  been  cashed. 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  Major.  "Cash  that  cheque? 
I  would  not  take  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  it.  It 
is  framed  and  hangs  in  my  brother's  house  in  Water- 
ville,  Minnesota,  where  my  nephews  and  nieces  can  see 
it.  I  'm  not  here  for  money !" 

Having  assured  the  directors  that  he  would  build  five 
hundred  miles  of  railway  during  the  season  of  1882,  Van 
Home  hurried  back  to  Winnipeg  to  start  operations. 
He  had  already  recast  and  reinforced  the  administrative 
staff.  Thomas  Tait,  who  was  afterwards  to  become  the 
highly  successful  reorganizer  of  the  state  railways  of 
Victoria,  was  appointed  his  private  secretary.  Kelson, 
of  the  Milwaukee  road,  was  persuaded  to  throw  in  his 
fortunes  with  those  of  his  former  chief  and  was  ap- 
pointed general  storekeeper  at  Winnipeg.  A  major  need 
remained  for  a  man  at  Montreal  capable  of  organizing 
at  that  end  the  supplies  and  commissariat  for  the  army 
of  men  Van  Home  would  shortly  have  in  the  field.  For 
this  important  service  his  choice  fell  upon  another  of 
his  Milwaukee  associates,  Thomas  G.  Shaughnessy,  who 
was  appointed  general  purchasing  agent.  By  no  means 
infallible  in  his  choice  of  men,  in  this  instance  Van 
Home  builded,  perhaps,  better  than  he  knew,  for 
Shaughnessy  was  destined  to  become  not  only  the  first 
and  the  ablest  of  his  lieutenants  but,  in  the  course  of 
time,  to  succeed  Van  Home  himself  in  the  control  of  the 
great  transcontinental  highway  and  to  develop  it  to  a 
magnitude  and  height  of  prosperity  which  few  of  its 
creators  could  possibly  have  foreseen. 

The  proposal  to  build  five  hundred  miles  of  track  in 
one  season  was  held  to  be  ridiculous.  Two  governments 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          83 

had  sunk  many  millions  in  construction  during  a  period 
of  ten  years,  yet  less  than  three  hundred  miles  had  been 
completed  east  or  west.  During  the  season  of  1881  the 
company  itself  had  built  only  a  little  more  than  one 
hundred  miles.  Moreover,  not  a  particle  of  construc- 
tion material  existed  on  the  prairies.  How  could  a  line 
of  supply  possibly  be  carried  in  advance  for  a  distance 
of  five  hundred  miles  in  one  summer? 

While  the  snows  were  lying  heavily  on  the  ground, 
Van  Home  began  to  assemble  supplies  at  Winnipeg  in 
unheard-of  quantities.  Steel  rails  came  from  England 
and  Germany,  ties  from  the  spruce  forests  east  of  Win- 
nipeg, stone  from  Stonewall,  and  lumber  from  Minne- 
sota and  Rat  Portage.  Before  lake  navigation  opened, 
rails  and  equipment  were  coming  in  by  way  of  New 
Orleans.  The  men  in  the  yards  of  his  old  town,  Joliet, 
were  surprised  by  the  sight  of  a  whole  train-load  of 
steel  rails  on  its  way  to  Winnipeg;  but  train-loads  of 
supplies  for  "Van  Home's  new  road"  soon  became  so 
common  that  they  ceased  to  excite  interest. 

The  prairie  contract  from  Flat  Creek  (Oak  Lake)  to 
Calgary  was  let  to  Langdon  and  Shepard,  a  firm  of  expe- 
rienced railway  contractors  at  St.  Paul.  The  day  they 
signed  the  contract  they  advertised  for  three  thousand 
men  and  four  thousand  horses.  To  have  a  body  of  men 
entirely  amenable  to  his  own  orders  and  to  set  a  pace 
for  the  contractors,  Van  Home  organized  a  special  con- 
struction gang  to  follow  in  the  rear  of  the  contractors 
and  complete  their  work.  Along  the  line  of  the  railway 
this  gang  became  known  as  the  "flying  wing." 

Every  day  saw  large  quantities  of  material  sent  to  the 
front.  Fuel  had  to  be  supplied,  for  the  prairies  were 
barren  of  all  but  grass,  and  when  coal  ran  short  the 
men  had  to  burn  ties.  The  stores  branch  had  a  line  of 


84     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

checkers  strung  out  between  New  York  and  the  Red 
River,  reporting  daily  the  arrival  and  the  movement  of 
all  supplies.  Back  in  Montreal  Shaughnessy  was  keep- 
ing track  of  the  materials  and  supplies  which  were  being 
swallowed  up  in  the  hungry  maw  of  the  prairies  and 
providing  for  the  daily  needs  of  the  army  of  men  at 
work.  Inundations  of  the  Emerson  branch  by  over- 
flooding  of  the  Red  River  brought  delay ;  but  as  soon  as 
locomotives  could  run  on  the  rails  without  the  water 
putting  out  their  fires,  train-loads  of  materials  were 
rushed  up  to  Winnipeg  and  thence  dispatched  to  the 
construction  point. 

Over  five  thousand  men  and  seventeen  hundred  teams 
were  working  at  high  pressure  on  the  prairie  section  all 
the  summer,  to  fulfil  the  general  manager's  boast.  Long 
as  are  the  summer  days  in  the  Northwest  they  were  not 
long  enough,  so  night  gangs  were  put  on  the  bridges 
and  on  the  handling  of  lumber  and  rails.  Fortunately 
there  was  no  need  of  advance  companies  of  men  to  clear 
the  land,  for  the  undulating  plains  bore  neither  forest 
nor  bush.  Following  upon  the  heels  of  the  locating  par- 
ties came  the  ploughs  and  scrapers,  tearing  into  the  old 
buffalo  land,  moulding  it,  and  branding  it  to  the  new 
bondage  of  progress.  Behind  these,  on  the  new-laid 
road  were  hauled  the  boarding-cars  and  the  construc- 
tion cars  laden  with  material  for  disciplined  battalions 
of  track-layers.  As  each  gang  finished  its  work  on  one 
lap  it  moved  automatically  to  the  one  ahead.  Behind 
these  road-builders  were  other  thousands — trainmen 
bringing  up  materials  and  Gargantuan  supplies  of  meat 
and  flour,  cooks,  tailors,  shoemakers,  blacksmiths,  car- 
penters, sadlers,  and  doctors.  The  line  threaded  its 
way  across  the  western  plains  at  the  rate  of  between 
two  and  three  miles  a  day. 


SIR    WILLIAM    VAN   HORNE  AT   THE  AGE    OF    39 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          85 

There  were  fully  ten  thousand  men  employed  upon  the 
prairies,  the  eastern  section,  and  the  branch  lines  during 
the  season,  and  Van  Home  was  the  brain-centre  direct- 
ing all.  Compared  with  the  task  upon  which  he  was 
now  engaged,  his  former  labours  on  the  Southern  Min- 
nesota and  the  Milwaukee  railroads  had  been  child's 
play.  But  the  greater  the  task,  the  greater  the  zest  with 
which  he  laboured  and  the  greater  his  enthusiasm  for 
the  goal  to  be  achieved.  He  was  bent  on  breaking  all 
records  in  railway  construction,  and  whether  at  the  front 
or  in  his  dingy  headquarters  at  Winnipeg  keeping  track 
over  the  telegraph  wire  of  every  mile  of  progress,  of 
every  pound  of  material  or  provisions  consumed,  he 
enjoyed  himself  to  the  full.  He  moved  about  contin- 
ually, "going  like  a  whirlwind  wherever  he  went,  and 
stimulating  every  man  he  met/'  From  the  end  of  the 
steel  rails  he  would  descend  from  his  shabby  little  car 
and  drive  in  a  buckboard  over  the  prairie,  observing 
and  noting  everything.  At  night  he  rested  in  the  con- 
struction camps,  where  the  food  and  lodgings  of  the 
men  came  under  his  survey.  When  his  official  work 
was  done  he  sketched  his  fancies  on  buffalo  skulls  or 
organized  foot-races  and  target-shooting  among  the 
men. 

In  his  Winnipeg  office,  where  a  maze  of  matters  al- 
way*s  clamoured  for  immediate  attention,  he  found  time 
between  hurricanes  of  work  "to  talk  on  any  conceivable 
subject."  His  powers  of  endurance  were  such  as  to  give 
rise  to  many  legends  which  still  linger  in  the  West.  Cer- 
tainly he  worked  all  day  and  every  day,  and  frequently 
far  into  the  night.  Occasionally  he  would  spend  a  night 
at  the  club,  playing  poker  or  billiards,  never  willing  to 
relinquish  the  game  until  he  had  beaten  his  opponents 
either  by  superior  skill  or  by  the  supremacy  of  greater 


86     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

physical  powers.  "Then,"  as  a  contemporary  has  re- 
called, "about  6  A.M.,  when  the  rest  of  us  were  nodding 
in  our  chairs,  he  would  rub  his  eyes  and  go  down  to  his 
office  for  a  long  hard  day's  work." 

The  lines  already  built  out  of  Winnipeg  did  not  escape 
his  attention.  His  unexpected  visits  to  the  station-yards 
were  as  eventful  as  ever.  They  left  men  with  a  new 
and  more  vigorous  conception  of  traffic  handling,  as 
well  as  a  lively  admiration  for  a  vocabulary  of  pictur- 
esque vituperation.  The  operations  under  his  direction 
required  a  great  driving  force  which  he  was  well  able 
to  furnish.  His  methods  were  often  drastic  and  some- 
times ruthless,  but  without  employing  them  he  probably 
could  not  have  accomplished  what  he  did. 

"If,"  he  said,  "you  want  anything  done,  name  the 
day  when  it  must  be  finished.  If  I  order  a  thing  done 
in  a  specified  time  and  the  man  to  whom  I  give  that  order 
says  it  is  impossible  to  carry  it  out — then  he  must  go." 

Anything  like  inefficiency  aroused  his  instant  wrath, 
and  he  would  dismiss  out  of  hand  all  the  employees  in 
a  yard  where  he  found  the  traffic  stupidly  handled.  The 
"Winnipeg  Sun"  reported  such  an  incident  in  a  bit  of 
journalese  typical  of  the  time  and  place : 

Van  Home  is  calm  and  harmless-looking.  So  is  a  she-mule, 
and  so  is  a  buzz-saw.  You  don't  know  their  true  inwardness 
until  you  go  up  and  feel  them.  To  see  Van  Home  get  out  of 
the  car  and  go  softly  up  the  platform  you  would  think  he  was  an 
evangelist  on  his  way  west  to  preach  temperance  to  the  Mounted 
Police.  But  you  are  soon  undeceived.  If  you  are  within  hearing 
distance,  you  will  have  more  fun  than  you  ever  had  in  your  life 
before. 

Self-willed,  determined  and  dominant,  gifted  with  a 
natural  genius  for  construction  and  an  intuitive  grasp 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          87 

of  engineering  problems,  and  thoroughly  versed  in  the 
practice  of  western  railroads,  his  ideas  frequently 
clashed  with  the  theories  of  British  and  Canadian  engi- 
neers. 

"He  always  acted,"  one  of  them  has  said,  "as  if  noth- 
ing were  impossible.  He  hated  the  expression  'can't/ 
and  he  deleted  the  word  'f ail'  from  his  dictionary.  He 
was  n't  always  right.  He  was  the  kind  who  would  go 
out  to  the  side  of  a  mountain  and  say,  'Blow  that  down !' 
He  wouldn't  ask  if  or  how  it  could  be  done;  he  would 
just  say,  'Do  it!'  Sometimes  the  thing  was  impossible 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  but  he  had  such  luck. 
Some  accident  or  other  would  happen  so  the  thing  could 
be  blown  up  or  torn  down  without  any  harm  coming 
of  it.  ...  His  luck,  his  daring,  and  his  fearlessness  just 
carried  him  through." 

It  is  more  probable  that  his  success  in  wrestling  with 
engineering  difficulties  was  due  to  the  application  of  his 
strong  common  sense,  his  experience,  his  genius  for  con- 
struction, and  the  large  view  he  was  compelled  to  take. 
These  advantages  were  not  always  possessed  by  the 
trained  engineer  who  had  to  carry  his  ideas  into  effect. 
An  anecdote  is  related  which  shows  his  forceful  methods. 

One  day  a  locating  engineer  was  summoned  to  his 
office.  He  found  the  general  manager  at  a  desk  cov- 
ered with  plans  and  profiles.  Van  Home  threw  a  profile 
over  for  his  inspection. 

"Look  at  that.  Some  infernal  idiot  has  put  a  tunnel 
in  there.  I  want  you  to  go  up  and  take  it  out." 

"But  this  is  on  the  Bow  River — a  rather  difficult  sec- 
tion. There  may  be  no  other  way." 

"Make  another  way!" 

As  the  engineer  stood  irresolute,  another  question  was 
hurled  at  him. 


88     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

"This  is  a  mud  tunnel,  is  n't  it?" 

"Yes." 

"How  long  would  it  take  us  to  build  it?" 

"A  year  or  eighteen  months." 

The  general  manager  banged  his  desk  with  his  fist, 
and  cracked  out  an  oath  like  a  thunderclap. 

"What  are  they  thinking  about?  Are  we  going  to 
hold  up  this  railway  for  a  year  and  a  half  while  they 
build  their  damned  tunnel?  Take  it  out!" 

The  engineer  took  the  objectionable  profile  and  pro- 
ceeded to  take  himself  away.  At  the  door  he  turned, 
seemingly  studying  the  profile. 

"Mr.  Van  Home,"  he  said,  "those  mountains  are  in 
the  way,  and  the  rivers  don't  run  all  right  for  us.  While 
we  are  at  it,  we  might  fix  them  up  too." 

As  he  left  he  had  a  glimpse  of  the  big  chief  lying  back 
in  his  chair,  shaking  with  laughter. 

The  order  went  out  to  the  locating  staff,  and  after  sev- 
eral determined  but  seemingly  hopeless  efforts  a  Scotch 
engineer  effected  a  location  which  avoided  a  tunnel.  He 
was  rewarded  for  his  work  by  the  gift  of  a  handsome 
bonus. 

As  the  summer  wore  on  it  became  evident  that  con- 
struction on  the  prairie  section  would  fall  far  short 
of  the  five  hundred  miles  the  contractors  had  under- 
taken to  build.  The  time  lost  through  the  Red  River 
floods  had  not  been  made  up.  Out  on  the  plains  Van 
Home  called  a  counsel  of  contractors  and  engineers 
and  in  uncompromising  terms  insisted  that  the  five  hun- 
dred miles  should  be  completed.  The  contractors 
declared  it  to  be  impossible,  but  under  threat  of  cancella- 
tion of  their  contract  they  obtained  large  reinforcements 
of  men  and  horses  from  St.  Paul  and  redoubled  their 
efforts.  The  arrival  of  winter  finally  compelling  them  to 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          89 

stop,  the  company's  own  gang  was  ordered  up,  to  con- 
tinue work  as  long  as  possible  on  the  frozen  track. 

The  five  hundred  miles  of  main-line  track  had  not 
been  laid,  but  417  miles  had  been  completed,  together 
with  28  miles  of  sidings,  and  18  miles  of  grading  were 
ready  for  the  next  season.  In  addition  to  this,  over  100 
miles  of  track  had  been  laid  on  the  Southwestern  branch 
in  Manitoba.  The  feat  of  building  five  hundred  miles 
across  the  prairies,  which  every  one  had  ridiculed  as 
being  impossible,  was  regarded  as  "a  wonderful  accom- 
plishment, and  only  a  Van  Home  with  his  marvellous 
energy,  determination,  and  power  of  organization,  and 
his  great  faith  in  his  work,  could  have  done  it." 

The  progress  of  the  railway  astonished  the  people  of 
Canada,  and  the  directors  of  the  company  were  highly 
gratified.  The  government  was  completing  its  section 
of  the  road  to  Thunder  Bay,  and  the  company  had  ac- 
quired by  purchase  a  line  between  Montreal  and  Ottawa 
which  allowed  them  to  operate  a  continuous  line  from 
Montreal  to  Lake  Nipissing  and  from  Rat  Portage  to 
Moosejaw.  In  all,  during  the  year  1882  620  miles  of 
railway  had  been  located,  508  miles  built,  897  miles  of 
telegraph  built,  and  32  stations  and  some  scores  of  other 
railway  buildings  erected.  The  progress  justified  the 
directors  in  officially  informing  the  government  that, 
although  they  were  given  by  their  charter  ten  years 
within  which  to  complete  the  line,  they  would  in  all  like- 
lihood be  able  to  complete  it  by  the  close  of  1886. 

Van  Home's  stay  in  Winnipeg  was  drawing  to  a  close 
when  a  fire,  caused  by  a  cigar-butt  carelessly  thrown 
into  his  wastepaper  basket,  damaged  the  company's 
offices  and  the  bank.  The  work  of  both  institutions  had 
to  be  carried  on  in  Knox  Church,  Van  Home's  office 
being  in  the  vestry-room.  Ogden,  the  auditor,  was  at 


90     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

hand  in  the  Sunday  School-room,  compiling  figures  at 
the  teacher's  desk,  primly  set  on  the  traditional  plat- 
form. The  bank  transacted  its  business  in  the  church 
itself. 

When  the  season's  work  was  finished  Van  Home 
transferred  his  offices  to  the  headquarters  of  the  com- 
pany in  Montreal.  During  the  spring  he  had  made  ar- 
rangements for  bringing  his  family  to  that  city,  where 
he  had  selected  a  spacious  stone  house  on  Dorchester 
Street,  hard  by  the  residence  of  Donald  Smith. 


CHAPTER  IX 

1883.      LAKE  SUPERIOR  SECTION.      INDIANS  ON  THE 

PRAIRIES.       CHIEF    CROWFOOT    AND    PERE    LACOMBE. 

THE     MOUNTAIN     SECTION.       EASTERN     EXTENSIONS 

AND  THE  GRAND  TRUNK.       A  GOVERNMENT  LOAN. 

VAN  HORNE  had  set  work  going  on  the  prairies 
with  such  impetus  that  a  few  months  of  the 
coming  season  of  1883  would  see  the  road  well 
up  to  the  mountains.  There  remained  the  two  difficult 
sections,  the  mountain  and  the  Lake  Superior.  The 
cost  of  constructing  the  latter  would  be  enormous.  A 
pamphlet  issued  in  London  by  the  Grand  Trunk  Rail- 
way's supporters,  who  were  actively  opposing  the  new 
line,  described  the  country  north  of  the  lake  as  "a  perfect 
blank,  even  on  the  maps  of  Canada.  All  that  is  known 
of  the  region  is  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  construct 
this  one  section  for  the  whole  cash  subsidy  provided  by 
the  Canadian  Government  for  the  entire  scheme." 

Van  Home  was  under  no  illusions  as  to  the  gravity  of 
the  undertaking.  It  had  been  his  idea  to  build  as  near 
the  lake  as  possible,  in  order  that  supplies  for  the  work 
could  be  transported  by  water.  Contracts  for  the  line 
had  been  let  and  supplies  assembled.  It  remained  to 
provide  an  efficient  steamship  service.  Following  un- 
successful negotiations  with  the  owners  of  a  short  line 
of  railway  running  from  Toronto  to  Collingwood,  water 
transportation  was  assured  by  the  acquisition  of  the 
Ontario  and  Quebec  and  its  leased  line,  the  Toronto, 
Grey  and  Bruce  Railway,  which  gave  him  a  lake  port 
at  Owen  Sound  on  Georgian  Bay. 

91 


92     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

From  Owen  Sound  supplies  were  rapidly  sent  forward 
to  points  one  hundred  miles  apart  on  the  north  shore  of 
Lake  Superior.  Rude  portage-roads  were  blasted  out 
with  dynamite  and  large  quantities  of  supplies  shipped 
during  the  winter  months  so  that  the  frozen  inland  lakes 
and  trails  might  serve.  With  the  advent  of  the  summer 
sun  these  small  lakes  were  crossed  in  boats,  and  wagons 
were  used  over  the  intervening  distances  to  the  supply- 
bases.  Dog-trains  were  employed  for  local  distribution 
and  to  haul  food  to  the  various  construction  camps. 

Quarries  were  opened  up  to  provide  stone  for  the 
heavier  work,  and  on  Van  Home's  initiative  three  dyna- 
mite factories  were  established  north  of  Superior,  with 
an  output  of  three  tons  a  day;  thereby  effecting  in  one 
stroke  a  large  saving  in  the  cost  of  explosives  and  elim- 
inating a  serious  difficulty  of  transportation.  On  one  of 
his  visits  of  inspection  he  found  men  struggling  to  lay 
rails  over  a  mosquito-infested  swamp.  His  search  for 
a  remedy  resulted  in  his  importing  from  Chicago  the  first 
track-laying  machine  to  be  used  in  Canada.  Its  uncanny 
powers  so  startled  the  French-Canadian  track-layers 
that  they  were  with  difficulty  prevailed  upon  to  use  it. 

In  the  meantime  his  expectations  of  progress  on  the 
prairie  section  were  being  handsomely  realized.  From 
the  beginning  of  April,  when  grading  recommenced,  the 
head  of  steel  pushed  forward  in  the  path  of  La  Veren- 
drye  out  of  the  central  plains  into  the  more  populous 
region  inhabited  by  Blackfeet  and  Piegans,  fur-traders, 
and  the  Mounted  Police.  The  rate  of  progress  sur- 
passed that  of  1882.  Day  after  day  the  average  ad- 
vance was  three  and  a  half  miles,  and  in  one  record- 
smashing  drive  of  three  days  twenty  miles  were  covered. 

Old-timers,  missionaries,  and  Indians  would  come 
at  times  to  some  vantage  point  and  look  on,  fasci- 


Indians  on  the  Prairies  93 

nated,  at  the  great  serpent  of  steel  wriggling  over  the 
plains.  To  Pere  Lacombe,  the  famous  missionary  to 
the  Blackfeet,  who  in  1857  had  organized  the  first 
ox-cart  transportation  across  the  Canadian  plains,  the 
spectacle,  astounding  as  it  was  exhilarating,  reminded 
him  of  "a  flight  of  wild  geese  cleaving  the  sky."  But  it 
was  saddening,  too,  for  it  meant  the  beginning  of  the 
end,  and  no  dignified  end,  of  his  "brave  chasseurs  des 
prairies"  the  Blackfeet. 

Van  Home  felt  no  other  incident  to  be  so  impressive 
and  significant  as  the  appearance  one  evening  of  an 
Indian  chief  on  the  prairie.  He  suddenly  came  on  to  the 
top  of  a  bluff  not  far  from  Van  Home.  An  upright 
eagle  feather  in  his  hair  disclosed  his  rank.  He  was  a 
man  of  dignified,  impassive  bearing.  Slipping  from  his 
pony  to  the  ground,  he  sat  in  moody  silence,  contemplat- 
ing the  great  work  driving  remorselessly  over  the  hunt- 
ing-ground of  his  fathers.  He  watched  a  long  while 
alone  in  silence;  then  disappeared  behind  the  bluff  as 
swiftly  as  he  had  come. 

But  the  railway-builders  were  yet  to  hear  from  the 
Indians.  Widely-scattered  groups  had  been  encoun- 
tered in  Manitoba  and  on  the  central  plains.  They  were, 
however,  but  feeble  shadows  of  their  fighting  fore- 
fathers, and  the  railway-builders,  as  they  approached  the 
territory  of  the  Blackfeet,  derided  the  rumours  which 
reached  them  of  an  Indian  uprising.  They  entered  the 
Blackfeet  reservation  with  unconcern,  but  one  morning 
found  that  the  first  rail  laid  upon  the  Indian  lands 
had  been  torn  up  in  the  night.  The  still  warlike  In- 
dians were  determined  to  repel  trespassers  upon  their 
territory.  The  Blackfeet  had  already  held  a  war  council 
when,  some  time  previously,  the  locating  engineers 
crossed  the  reservation  set  aside  for  them  by  the  govern- 


94    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

ment.  Now  the  younger  element  among  them  strongly 
urged  righting,  if  the  invading  pale-faces  continued  to 
tear  up  their  land  to  make  a  trail  for  their  fiery  horse. 

The  Blackf eet  had  a  genuine  grievance.  The  govern- 
ment had  undertaken  to  extinguish  the  title  to  any  Indian 
lands  required  for  the  company's  right-of-way,  but  had 
neglected  to  warn  the  tribe  of  its  action  and  of  its 
intention  to  give  compensation.  Crowfoot,  the  Black- 
foot  chief,  was  an  old  man  of  noble  character,  distin- 
guished as  a  warrior  and  councillor.  He  had  always 
treated  the  whites  most  fairly,  and  he  now  felt  himself 
wronged  and  insulted.  His  young  warriors  were  loudly 
indignant,  and  plans  for  an  attack  were  freely  discussed. 
This  denouement,  however,  was  fortunately  averted  by 
Pere  Doucet,  the  amiable  young  missionary  to  the  tribe. 
Feeling  himself  incapable  of  controlling  them  if  Crow- 
foot were  once  to  consent  to  a  rising,  he  secretly  sent  a 
courier  to  his  more  robust  colleague,  Pere  Lacombe,  at 
Calgary.  This  most  picturesque  of  missionaries  was 
not  only  one  of  Crowfoot's  warmest  friends  but  an  idol 
of  the  warring  tribes,  having  always  traversed  the  plains 
with  immunity.  Lacombe  rode  posthaste  to  Crowfoot's 
village  and,  learning  from  the  chief  that  the  matter  was 
indeed  serious,  obtained  a  large  supply  of  tea  and  tobacco 
from  the  trading  post  and  prevailed  upon  Crowfoot  to 
call  a  council.  Assuming  the  authority  of  an  envoy  of 
the  government,  he  explained  the  white  men's  need  of  a 
small  portion  of  the  reserve  for  the  iron  road  and  under- 
took that  the  government  would  generously  compensate 
the  tribe  by  a  grant  of  other  lands.  Mollified  by  the 
deferential  courtesy  and  persuaded  by  the  arguments  and 
promises  of  this  old  prince  of  Indian  diplomats,  the 
Blackfeet  solemnly  agreed  in  council,  amid  much  cere- 
monial smoking,  that  the  government  might  build  its 


Father  Lacombe  and  Chief  Crowfoot  95 

road  undisturbed.  The  flames  were  extinguished  so 
quickly  and  effectively  that  few  realized  how  great  the 
danger  had  been. 

Van  Home,  however,  was  instantly  appreciative  of  the 
service  Chief  Crowfoot  had  rendered  the  company,  and 
himself  designed  and  presented  to  him  a  perennial  pass 
over  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  This  token  of  cour- 
tesy and  gratitude  so  appealed  to  the  aged  chief  that  he 
had  the  pass  framed  and  wore  it  during  the  remainder 
of  his  lifetime  suspended  by  a  chain  on  his  breast. 

One  day  the  tracklayers*  lively  pursuit  of  the  graders 
and  surfacing-gangs  who  had  preceded  them  rested  on 
the  Bow  River,  and  the  jubilant  whistling  and  bell-ring- 
ing of  a  construction-engine  echoed  among  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Rockies.  It  announced  to  the  thrilled  inhab- 
itants of  Calgary's  tents  and  shacks  that  the  railway 
had  come.  The  event  was  considered  so  important  that 
the  first  through  train  from  Winnipeg  to  Calgary  car- 
ried, besides  Van  Home  himself,  a  distinguished  party 
of  the  road's  builders  and  friends,  including  George 
Stephen,  Donald  Smith,  R.  B.  Angus,  Lord  Elphinstone, 
and  Count  Hohenlohe.  At  Calgary  they  added  the  in- 
imitable Pere  Lacombe  to  their  number.  During  lunch- 
eon in  the  president's  car,  Van  Home  playfully  sug- 
gested that  in  recognition  of  the  missionary's  services 
at  the  Blackfoot  Crossing  he  be  made  president  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific.  A  meeting  of  the  directors  was  there- 
upon held.  Stephen  resigned  the  presidency,  and  Pere 
Lacombe  was  duly  elected  in  his  stead.  The  genial 
missionary  held  sway  for  one  hour,  during  which  he 
formally  confirmed  Van  Home  as  general  manager, 
declaring,  amid  the  party's  applause,  that  no  one  could 
be  found  to  replace  him.  When  the  train  disappeared 
in  the  east,  Pere  Lacombe  was  left  at  the  Crossing  with 


96     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

wonderful  memories  for  Crowfoot  and  Pere  Doucet 
of  the  genial  ways  and  charming  company  of  the  "gros 
bonnets"  from  Montreal. 

Heavy  and  trying  work  was  accomplished  during  the 
season  of  1883  by  the  surveying  and  locating  parties  of 
engineers  who  followed  Major  Rogers'  proposed  route 
over  the  Rockies  and  the  Selkirks.  The  summer  season 
in  the  mountains  is  short,  and  so  great  were  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  trackless  heights  and  valleys  to  be  crossed 
that  in  September  of  that  year  Sandford  Fleming,  who 
was  essaying  a  trip  over  the  Selkirks  to  Kamloops,  found 
engineers  at  Calgary  who  doubted  if  he  could  possibly 
get  through.  Fleming,  who  was  highly  experienced  as 
an  explorer,  had  never  before  found  anything  so  dan- 
gerous and  difficult.  In  his  narrative  of  this  journey 
over  the  two  mountain  ranges,  contained  in  his  "Old  to 
New  Westminster,"  he  paid  a  remarkable  tribute  to  the 
engineers  of  this  section  and  to  every  man  who  followed 
their  scouting  parties.  The  trail  led  down  gorges  and 
along  narrow  ledges  of  rock  on  which  even  the  pack- 
ponies  occasionally  lost  footing  and  rolled  down  into 
the  abysses  below,  across  torrential  streams  and  rapids, 
and  through  rough  forest  areas  devastated  by  fire.  His 
painful  progress  along  what  he  calls  the  "mauvais  pas" 
of  Kicking  Horse  he  described  as  the  greatest  trial  he 
had  ever  experienced;  and  this  path  of  danger,  unlike 
famed  Chamounix's  few  hundred  yards,  was  six  miles 
in  length.  Nevertheless,  the  road  continued  to  climb 
toward  the  summit  of  the  Rockies.  It  went  slowly,  for 
the  graders  now  met  only  solid  rock  and  hardpan,  in- 
stead of  virgin  prairie;  but  before  the  year  had  ended 
the  summit  had  been  reached. 

Whether  at  headquarters  or  traveling  in  his  car  to 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          97 

the  various  bases  of  construction  Van  Home  was  ever 
spinning  a  web  of  ideas  that  extended  from  the  Rockies 
to  Montreal  and  from  Montreal  to  the  Atlantic.  A 
skeleton  of  a  great  system  was  beginning  to  emerge 
from  the  dust  of  construction,  and  he  must  clothe  it 
with  the  living  tissues  of  traffic.  Traffic  was  a  thing  that 
would  not  wait  on  completion,  for  the  credit  of  the  road 
had  to  be  built  up.  Having  effected  an  organization 
adequate  to  grapple  with  the  problems  of  construction, 
he  had  now  to  call  upon  all  his  ingenuity  and  unquench- 
able optimism  to  fortify  the  road  in  the  eastern  and 
settled  portions  of  Canada  so  as  to  provide  the  system 
with  the  traffic  that  would  enable  it  to  live. 

In  this  work  he  had  to  contend  with  the  active  hos- 
tility of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Company,  owned  in 
London  and  controlled  from  there.  That  company's 
system,  extending  from  Montreal  through  the  province 
of  Ontario  and  forming  connections  across  the  Amer- 
ican boundary  with  affiliated  railways,  was  then  the 
largest  in  Canada,  and  its  management  regarded  the 
new  transcontinental  railway  with  jealousy  not  unmixed 
with  fear.  They  were  determined  to  do  all  within  their 
power  to  restrict  the  activities  of  the  newcomer  to  the 
territory  west  of  Ottawa  and  to  prevent  it  from  com- 
peting in  the  East  with  their  own  system.  With  this 
object  in  view  the  Grand  Trunk's  directorate  sought  to 
obtain  from  the  Canadian  Pacific  the  control  the  latter 
had  acquired  early  in  1883  of  the  Ontario  and  Quebec 
Railway.  The  Canadian  Pacific  was  proceeding  to  con- 
solidate and  link  up  this  road  with  the  Credit  Valley  and 
the  Atlantic  and  Northwest,  a  short  line  running  out 
of  Montreal,  so  that,  when  completed,  it  would  furnish  a 
direct  line  from  Montreal  to  Toronto  and  St.  Thomas. 


98     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Stephen  being  in  London  in  April  in  the  interests  of  his 
company,  a  tentative  agreement  was  reached  between  the 
presidents  of  the  two  roads. 

Van  Home,  however,  saw  speedy  collapse  ahead  if 
his  road  had  to  depend  upon  local  traffic  through  the 
great  empty  spaces  of  the  West,  and  the  tentative  agree- 
ment was  immediately  frustrated.  Instead  of  yielding 
what  the  company  held,  further  opportunities  must  be 
sought  for  developing  traffic  in  the  paying  East.  It 
was  his  maxim,  coined  from  the  ore  of  experience,  that 
a  new  railway  must  keep  on  growing;  otherwise  it  dies 
or  is  eaten  up  by  one  that  is  growing.  Purchases  of 
existing  roads  in  the  eastern  territory  and  their  exten- 
sion were  as  necessary  a  part  of  the  enterprise  as  were  a 
great  number  of  local  feeders  in  the  West.  Without 
them  the  main  line  would  be  a  vast  body  without  arms 
or  legs,  a  helpless  and  hopeless  thing  which  could  not 
live  without  constant  governmental  aid. 

It  was  known  from  the  beginning  that  the  Grand 
Trunk,  with  its  lines  to  Chicago,  would  not  consent  to 
the  diversion  of  a  pound  of  freight  or  a  passenger  from 
any  of  its  territory  east  of  the  Great  Lakes.  Without 
these  eastern  acquisitions  and  extensions,  therefore,  the 
main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  would  be  of  little 
value  to  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  every  dollar  of 
private  capital  put  into  it  would  be  absolutely  lost.  The 
company  could  not  wait  a  minute.  On  the  entire  main 
line  there  was  no  traffic  whatever  except  for  a  few  miles 
about  Winnipeg,  and  therefore  the  most  important  of 
the  connecting  and  developing  lines  had  to  be  made 
ready  by  the  completion  of  the  main  line  to  avoid  abso- 
lute starvation. 

In  addition  to  the  acquisition  and  development  of 
existing  railways  in  the  East  and  the  planning  of  branch 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway          99 

lines  in  the  West,  Van  Home  set  about  creating  traffic 
that  would  grow  up  with  the  railway.  Grain  elevators 
were  built  at  Winnipeg  and  Head-of-the-Lake ;  flour 
mills,  destined  to  become  among  the  greatest  in  the 
world,  were  started  at  Lake-of-the- Woods ;  timber  lands 
were  purchased  in  Ontario  for  the  manufacture  of  lum- 
ber. He  began  to  plan  the  string  of  hotels  which  were 
one  day  to  attract  countless  thousands  of  tourists. 
Neglecting  no  detail  that  would  tend  to  ameliorate  pion- 
eering conditions  on  the  prairies,  he  originated  a  depart- 
ment store  system  on  cars,  which  were  left  on  side- 
tracks at  the  various  points  for  two  or  three  days  at  a 
time,  so  that  women  in  the  new  districts  might  do  their 
shopping.  He  encouraged  physicians  to  settle  in  the 
new  communities  that  were  springing  up,  and  helped  to 
establish  a  hospital  at  Medicine  Hat. 

Van  Home  borrowed  the  idea  of  the  government's 
experimental  farm  at  Ottawa  and,  with  Stephen,  planned 
to  establish  experimental  farms  along  the  railway  west 
of  Moose  Jaw.  Opponents  of  the  road  were  decrying 
this  region  as  a  sandy  desert  unfit  for  cultivation,  and 
this  impression  had  to  be  corrected.  In  October  a  spe- 
cial train  left  Winnipeg  laden  with  men,  teams,  and 
farm-machinery,  and  equipped  with  boarding-cars. 
Ten  farms  were  located  and  the  ground  at  once  broken 
by  the  plough.  When  spring  came  all  would  be  ready 
for  the  first  season's  operations,  and  the  farm  buildings 
would  be  quickly  erected. 

The  season  of  1883  saw  the  road's  mileage  in  actual 
operation  increase  from  748  to  1552  miles.  Connection 
had  been  established  between  the  eastern  and  western 
sections  by  the  purchase  of  three  Clyde-built  steamers 
to  ply  on  the  Great  Lakes.  The  gross  earnings  exceeded 
five  million  dollars,  and  the  operation  of  the  lines  had 


loo     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

been  so  astonishingly  skilful  that  there  was  a  handsome 
balance  over  running  expenses. 

But  the  company's  coffers  were  empty. 

Warned  by  the  fate  of  many  American  railways 
which,  like  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific,  had  been  plunged 
into  bankruptcy  through  excessive  borrowing  on  the 
security  of  bond  issues,  the  directors  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  from  the  beginning  had  adopted  the  policy  of 
financing  the  road  by  sale  of  its  common  stock.  They 
proposed,  by  keeping  its  fixed  charges  at  a  minimum,  to 
avert  all  risk  of  losing  control  to  bondholders  and  of  the 
inevitable  sequel,  a  receivership.  But  common  stock 
was  by  no  means  so  easily  realizable  in  the  money-mar- 
kets as  bonds,  and  their  efforts  to  finance  the  road  by 
this  means  were  constantly  baffled  by  the  manoeuvres  of 
competing  roads.  Van  Home  had  been  convinced  that 
the  line  would  collapse  if  it  surrendered  its  eastern  feed- 
ers to  the  Grand  Trunk.  That  company  was  determined 
to  force  its  collapse  just  because  it  had  not  surrendered, 
and  so  influenced  the  London  market  that  its  rival's 
securities  went  begging.  Hostility  to  the  new  enter- 
prise, fostered,  it  was  believed,  by  Hill  and  the  Pacific 
railways  in  the  United  States,  closed  the  New  York 
market.  A  bad  harvest  in  Manitoba  and  the  breakdown 
of  a  frenzied  speculation  in  land,  which  had  followed  in 
the  wake  of  the  railway,  weakened  the  faith  of  the  com- 
pany's supporters  in  England  and  elsewhere.  Op- 
ponents found  abundant  ammunition  for  their  attacks 
upon  the  company's  credit  in  the  utterances  of  the  Lib- 
erals, who  had  declared  in  Parliament  that  the  road  for 
many  years  would  not  be  able  to  pay  its  running  ex- 
penses; that  for  six  months  in  the  year  it  would  be 
idle  on  an  ice-bound,  snow-covered  route;  and  that,  in 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway*  •      TO! 

the  words  of  Edward  Blake,  the  mountain  section  would 
not  pay  for  the  grease  on  the  axles. 

The  company,  moreover,  found  itself  severely  handi- 
capped by  a  course  which  it  had  itself  taken.  In  an 
endeavour  to  secure  purchasers  for  a  contemplated  issue 
of  common  stock,  Stephen,  advised  by  English  and 
French  financiers,  had  persuaded  the  government  in 
November,  1883,  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  to  guar- 
antee the  payment  of  dividends  amounting  to  three 
per  cent,  on  the  stock  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  The 
company  deposited  with  the  government  a  sum  of 
over  $8,700,000  as  the  first  instalment  of  some  $16,- 
000,000  which  would  be  required  to  make  good  the 
guaranty.  Under  the  arrangement  the  balance,  amount- 
ing to  $35,000,000,  of  the  company's  authorized  cap- 
ital stock  was  deposited  with  the  government,  subject 
to  withdrawal  as  and  when  it  might  be  sold  by  the  com- 
pany. 

In  view  of  the  government's  guaranty,  the  stock, 
which  had  fallen  in  price  to  $40,  bounded  upwards.  It 
rose  quickly  to  $65,  when  all  hope  placed  in  the  scheme 
was  completely  dashed  by  the  bankruptcy  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific.  All  the  stock  markets  of  the  world  became 
profoundly  depressed,  and  the  stocks  and  securities  of 
American  and  Canadian  railways  were  hastily  thrown 
overboard.  The  confidence  that  had  marked  the  out- 
lay of  capital  in  American  railways  during  the  preced- 
ing three  years  was  completely  upset.  The  credit  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific,  its  means  and  resources,  and  the 
capabilities  of  the  Northwest  Territories  as  an  advan- 
tageous field  for  emigration  and  colonization  were  sys- 
tematically decried  and  assailed  by  the  most  calumnious 
and  unfounded  statements.  By  such  means,  and  by 


102     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

urging  the  possibility  of  the  whole  remaining  $35,- 
000,000  stock  of  the  company  being  at  any  moment 
placed  upon  the  market,  any  rise  in  the  market  value  of 
the  stock  was  effectually  prevented.  The  dividend 
guaranty  not  only  failed  of  its  purpose,  but  the  lock- 
ing-up  of  so  large  an  amount  as  $8,700,000  threatened  a 
complete  check  to  the  company's  operations. 

Construction,  however,  had  to  proceed.  Even  a  tem- 
porary delay  would  cause  total  disaster.  The  company's 
authorized  capital  stock  was  $100,000,000,  but  less  than 
$31,000,000  had  been  realized  upon  the  sale  of  $55,- 
000,000  of  stock.  The  sale  of  land-grant  bonds  and 
land  sales  had  provided  about  $10,000,000  more;  the 
earned  cash  subsidy  exceeded  $12,000,000.  The  re- 
ceipts, in  all,  had  been  less  than  $53,000,000,  while  the 
expenditures  amounted  to  nearly  $59,000,000.  A  tem- 
porary loan  had  been  effected  on  a  pledge  of  $10,000,000 
in  stock.  The  company  was  heavily  in  debt,  and  its  di- 
rectors saw  no  possibility  of  securing  aid,  except  from 
the  Canadian  government.  Stephen  urged  that  the  gov- 
ernment was  bound  to  furnish  it,  the  road  being  national 
in  scope  and  effect. 

Sir  John  Macdonald,  aware  of  the  storm  of  criticism 
such  a  loan  would  evoke  not  only  from  the  Opposition 
but  from  many  of  his  own  followers,  cabled  to  Sir 
Charles  Tupper  who,  retaining  the  portfolio  of  Minister 
of  Railways,  was  acting  as  High  Commissioner  for  Can- 
ada in  London.  Tupper,  who  had  been  a  most  ardent 
protagonist  of  the  railway,  promptly  sailed  for  Canada, 
and  on  his  arrival  ordered  an  investigation  by  govern- 
ment officials  of  the  company's  financing.  The  investi- 
gators reported  their  entire  satisfaction  with  the  com- 
pany's accounts  and  integrity ;  and  Van  Home  was  sum- 


A  Government  Loan  103 

moned  to  a  meeting  of  the  cabinet  to  explain  the  com- 
pany's progress  and  needs. 

Rumours  of  the  negotiations  quickly  stirred  the  ene- 
mies of  the  road  to  action.  The  Grand  Trunk  made  a 
final  effort  to  have  the  Canadian  Pacific  relinquish  its 
eastern  feeders,  or  be  denied  government  aid.  While 
Sir  John  Macdonald  was  being  bombarded  with  letters 
of  protest  from  Joseph  Hickson,  the  general  manager  in 
Canada  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  the  Canadian  Pacific  was 
informed  by  cable  from  London  that  the  press  and  finan- 
cial circles  in  that  city  were  being  organized  against  it 
on  the  ground  of  its  demands  upon  the  government  "to 
enable  it  to  go  out  of  its  legitimate  sphere  to  compete 
with  and  injure  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Company." 
This  had  particular  reference  to  the  acquisition  and  ex- 
tension by  the  Canadian  Pacific  of  the  Ontario  and  Que- 
bec system,  and  ignored  the  fact  that  while  the  Ontario 
extension  had  cost  the  company  little  more  than 
$3,000,000,  the  company  was  seeking  a  loan  of  not  less 
than  $22,500,000.  The  cable  concluded  with  an  offer  to 
negotiate  for  the  joint  working  of  the  lines. 

The  conduct  of  the  negotiations  with  the  government 
was  in  Stephen's  able  hands,  but  the  attacks  of  a  rival 
road  brought  Van  Home  to  the  front.  In  a  character- 
istic letter  to  Sir  John  Macdonald  he  stated  that  the  On- 
tario and  Quebec  system  had  been  "leased  and  finally 
bound  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  for  a  term  of  999  years, 
and  we  will  be  unable  to  treat  for  its  sale  until  the  end 
of  that  time." 

Carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp,  he  boldly 
proposed  the  purchase  from  the  Grand  Trunk  of  that 
company's  line  between  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and  in- 
timated that  a  connection  would  be  made  between  the 


104     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Ontario  and  Quebec  system  and  the  main  line  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  which  would  make  the  latter  quite  in- 
dependent of  the  Grand  Trunk  in  Ontario.  He  declared 
further : 

The  necessity  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  of  perfect  independence 
is  manifest  when  the  fact  is  considered  that  the  Grand  Trunk 
Company  have  a  line  of  their  own  to  Chicago,  and  that  not  one 
of  their  passengers  or  one  pound  of  their  freight  from  any  point, 
going  to  the  Northwest,  can  be  delivered  to  the  Canadian  Pacific 
at  Callander  or  other  point  east  of  the  Great  Lakes  without  direct 
loss  to  the  earnings  of  the  Grand  Trunk. 

When  the  Ontario  and  Quebec  system  is  completed,  it  will  be 
superior  to  the  Grand  Trunk  in  distance,  in  grades,  in  equip- 
ment, and  in  every  other  particular,  and  its  cost  will  be  less  than 
one  fifth  of  that  of  the  corresponding  section  of  the  Grand  Trunk. 
It  will  pass  through  a  well-developed  country,  and  will  have  from 
its  opening  a  large  local  business,  and  will  be  so  situated  as  to 
command  its  full  share  of  through  traffic. 

I  have  no  hesitation,  therefore,  in  asserting  that  the  lines  by 
means  of  which  the  Canadian  Pacific  will  secure  independence  will 
not  cost  them  one  dollar,  but  on  the  contrary  will  largely  add  to 
their  profits. 

With  these  Parthian  thrusts  at  the  enemy — the  asser- 
tion of  the  necessity  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  of  its  com- 
plete independence  and  of  its  character  as  a  truly  na- 
tional line,  and  defiant  repudiation  of  the  Grand  Trunk's 
or  any  other  claim  to  limit  the  expansion  of  the  new 
road,  Van  Home  appeared  in  the  arena  as  no  mean  con- 
tender for  the  Canadian  Pacific.  For  a  long  time  the 
spurs  of  battle  were  rarely  put  aside. 

The  application  for  the  loan  was  the  signal  for  an 
explosion  from  the  Liberal  party,  and  the  time  of  Par- 
liament was  taken  up  by  long  and  acrimonious  debates. 
Even  within  his  own  ranks  the  Premier  met  obstruction, 
but  his  inimitable  leadership  and  the  storming  tactics 


A  Government  Loan  105 

of  Sir  Charles  Tupper  forced  its  adoption  by  the  party 
caucus.  Some  of  his  colleagues,  however,  bargained 
for  a  quid  pro  quo  for  the  eastern  provinces  if  they  were 
to  commit  the  country  to  this  immense  loan  for  building 
up  western  Canada.  Sir  John  reluctantly  had  to  meet 
their  demands,  and  the  policy  of  granting  subsidies  to 
local  railways,  entered  upon  in  1882,  received  a  harm- 
ful stimulus,  eventually  becoming  at  once  the  weapon 
and  the  bribe  of  political  opportunism,  to  the  detriment 
of  Canadian  political  ideals. 

In  the  face  of  vehement  opposition,  but  helped  by  the 
telling  effect  of  a  declaration  that  if  the  loan  was  made 
the  company  would  have  the  completed  line  ready  for 
operation  in  the  spring  of  1886,  Sir  John  succeeded  in 
passing  a  bill  through  Parliament  authorizing  the  gov- 
ernment to  lend  the  company  the  sum  of  $22,500,000 
upon  the  security  of  a  first  charge — subject  to  some  ex- 
isting mortgages  and  liens — upon  the  whole  of  the  com- 
pany's property.  Under  the  ensuing  contract  with  the 
government,  made  in  March,  1884'  the  company  under- 
took to  complete  the  line  by  May  31,  1886,  instead  of 
May  I,  1891.  The  sum  of  $7,500,000  was  to  be  ad- 
vanced at  once  to  extinguish  the  company's  floating  debt, 
and  the  balance  was  to  be  paid  in  instalments  propor- 
tionate to  the  progress  of  the  work.  The  payment  of  a 
sum  due  to  the  government  under  the  agreement  for  the 
guaranty  of  dividends  was  postponed  for  a  period  of 
five  years. 

With  this  relief,  Stephen,  Van  Home,  and  their  col- 
leagues could  survey  their  enterprise  in  a  new  spirit  of 
optimism,  which  was  reflected  in  their  annual  report  by 
a  forecast  that  the  entire  main  line  could  be  completed 
by  the  end  of  1885.  The  shareholders,  at  the  annual 
meeting  held  in  May,  1884,  learned  that  Van  Home  had 


106     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

been  appointed  vice-president  of  the  company,  while 
Duncan  Mclntyre,  apprehensive  of  further  financial  dif- 
ficulties, had  retired  from  the  directorate.  Donald 
Smith,  however,  who,  owing  to  political  differences  with 
Sir  John  Macdonald,  had  hitherto  kept  in  the  back- 
ground, now  joined  the  board  and  took  his  rightful  place 
as  one  of  the  executive  committee. 


CHAPTER  X 

1884.      TOURS  OF  INSPECTION.      VANCOUVER.      PHYS- 
ICAL     COURAGE.       FINANCIAL      DIFFICULTIES.       SIR 
JOHN    MACDONALD. 

DURING  the  season  of  1884  Van  Home,  who 
took  a  far  rosier  view  of  the  financial  situation 
than  his  colleagues,  Stephen,  Smith,  and  An- 
gus, threw  himself  with  unabated  vigor  into  the  work 
of  pushing  construction.  The  government  having 
handed  over,  to  be  finished  by  the  company,  the  three 
hundred  mile  section  from  Rat  Portage  to  Thunder  Bay, 
the  line  was  complete  between  Port  Arthur  and  the 
Rockies.  The  other  government  section  from  Port 
Moody,  the  Pacific  terminus,  to  Kamloops,  had  pro- 
gressed about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  eastward  to  Lyt- 
ton.  There  remained  the  enormously  difficult  and  costly 
sections  through  the  mountains  and  north  of  Lake  Su- 
perior. 

To  expedite  completion  of  the  former  Van  Home  now 
decided  to  work  from  both  ends,  and  commenced  con- 
struction from  Kamloops  eastward.  Work  had  begun 
on  the  Lake  Superior  section  in  the  spring  of  1883,  and 
some  three  hundred  miles  of  track  had  been  built,  but 
by  far  the  heavier  part  of  the  section  remained  to  be 
covered.  In  the  meantime,  however,  on  a  revision  of 
surveys,  a  new  and  improved  location  had  been  found, 
which,  it  was  thought,  would  greatly  reduce  the  cost. 

In  July  Van  Home  accompanied  Collingwood  Schrei- 
ber,  the  government's  chief  engineer,  on  a  walking  tour 

107 


io8     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  inspection  of  the  unfinished  road  north  of  Lake  Su- 
perior. He  amazed  Schreiber  by  his  energetic  mode  of 
traveling  and  his  powers  of  endurance.  His  figure  was 
becoming  corpulent,  and  a  long  walk  was  an  infrequent 
form  of  exercise.  One  day  they  set  out  to  inspect  a 
stretch  of  eighty-two  miles  between  Nipigon  and  Jack 
Fish.  Fire  had  recently  swept  through  the  country  and 
in  places  was  still  smoldering.  The  weather  was  ex- 
cessively hot  and  the  location  through  the  blackened 
forest  extremely  difficult  to  traverse.  Yet  when  they 
reached  an  engineer's  camp  at  night,  both  of  them  limp 
and  sore,  the  irrepressible  Boy  was  still  alive  in  the  gen- 
eral manager.  He  suddenly  leaped  from  his  seat  and 
challenged  Schreiber  to  a  foot-race.  The  latter  de- 
clined, to  the  secret  joy  of  his  exhausted  companion. 

Such  a  trip  was  bound  to  be  marked  by  adventures. 
They  started  one  afternoon  on  the  return  journey  west- 
ward in  a  steam  launch  from  Jack  Fish  Bay  for  Red 
Rock,  intending  to  inspect  a  stone-quarry  on  the  way  and 
connect  with  the  Port  Arthur  train.  The  boiler  of  the 
launch  soon  began  to  leak  badly,  but  Van  Home's  time 
was  always  mortgaged  in  advance  and  he  would  not 
hear  of  putting  in  to  shore.  He  and  Schreiber,  with  the 
engineer,  spent  the  night  paddling  the  launch  through 
the  heavy  waters  of  Lake  Superior.  It  was  dawn  when 
they  reached  the  quarry.  Here  another  misfortune  be- 
fell them.  The  engineer  met  with  an  accident  and  was 
obliged  to  remain  behind.  There  was  nothing  for  Van 
Home  and  Schreiber  to  do  but  to  paddle  the  launch  the 
rest  of  the  way  to  Red  Rock  alone. 

They  found  over  nine  thousand  men  at  work  on  the 
section,  boring  their  way  through  the  hardest  and  tough- 
est rock  in  the  world ;  matching  man's  ingenuity  against 
the  obstacles  of  "200  miles  of  engineering  impossibili- 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway         109 

ties."  The  cost  was  appalling.  For  one  mile  on  the 
east  shore  of  the  lake  the  rock  excavation  alone  cost 
nearly  $700,000,  and  several  other  miles  cost  half  a 
million.  Over  the  innumerable  muskegs  and  hollows 
which  alternated  with  long  stretches  of  rock,  Van  Home, 
in  order  to  save  time  and  money,  decided  to  make  ex- 
tensive use  of  trestle-work.  The  cost  of  carrying  the 
line  high  on  timber  trestles  was  only  a  tenth  of  the  cost 
of  cutting  through  hills  and  making  solid  embankments 
through  depressions;  and  the  trestles  could  be  filled  up 
later  by  train-haul. 

In  August  he  went  out  to  inspect  the  mountain  sec- 
tion. To  reach  the  Pacific  he  had  to  travel  west  by  an 
American  road.  The  first  problem  to  engage  him  upon 
his  arrival  at  the  coast  was  to  decide  upon  the  site  of  a 
new  Pacific  terminus.  Port  Moody,  an  early  choice  of 
government  engineers,  which  was  named  as  the  Pacific 
terminus  in  the  company's  charter,  he  found  to  be  un- 
suitable and  inadequate  in  harbor  facilities  for  the  ocean 
traffic  which  he  foresaw.  After  a  careful  survey  of 
the  ground  he  decided  upon  a  more  advantageous  loca- 
tion at  the  entrance  to  Burrard  Inlet.  Here,  during  the 
following  year,  after  the  British  Columbia  government, 
in  consideration  of  the  extension  of  the  line  from  Port 
Moody,  had  granted  the  company  an  area  of  nine  square 
miles,  a  city  was  laid  out,  to  which  Van  Home  gave  the 
name  of  Vancouver  in  honor  of  the  English  navigator 
who  had  explored  the  adjacent  waters. 

Returning  east,  he  traveled  by  train  to  the  rail-head 
of  the  completed  portion  of  the  railway  being  built  by 
the  government,  from  Lytton  to  Savona's  Ferry  by 
stage,  and  along  the  Cariboo  trail  built  during  the  rush 
of  gold-seekers  to  the  Fraser.  At  Savona's  Ferry  he 
was  joined  by  an  old  friend  and  consulting  engineer, 


Iio     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Samuel  Reed  of  Joliet,  and  the  two  traveled  by  boat 
to  Sicamous,  and  thence  by  freight-teams  which  crossed 
the  mountain  lakes  on  scows.  From  Revelstoke  the  re- 
mainder of  the  journey  to  the  summit  of  the  Rockies  was 
by  pony-train,  an  arduous  method  of  locomotion  for  a 
man  of  his  build.  The  almost  unbroken  trail  was  that 
which  Sandf ord  Fleming  had  already  traversed  and  de- 
scribed, made  more  difficult  by  an  early  fall  of  three 
feet  of  snow.  No  one  who  went  over  it  ever  anticipated 
taking  the  journey  again.  Nothing  was  ever  done  to 
improve  it.  It  was  littered  with  cast-off  blankets,  sad- 
dles, and  other  impedimenta,  and  numerous  carcasses  of 
pack-ponies  bore  witness  to  its  hazards.  When  the 
snow  lay  on  the  ground,  a  step  on  what  appeared  to  be 
solid  earth  was  rewarded  by  immersion  to  the  waist  in 
mud  and  slush.  To  add  to  the  trials  of  the  journey,  the 
party  missed  one  of  the  depots  in  the  mountains,  their 
rations  ran  out,  and  they  had  to  continue  for  two  days 
without  food.  Van  Home's  fastidious  stomach  re- 
belled against  a  bannock  made  of  flour  which  had  leaked 
into  the  cook's  saddle-bag,  where  it  had  lain  with  a 
curry-brush  and  other  ill-assorted  articles. 

The  men  along  the  right-of-way  were  quick  to  dis- 
cover that  the  "boss"  had  no  sense  of  personal  fear. 
He  would  take  any  curve  on  a  railway  at  any  speed  an 
engineer  would  drive.  Despite  his  bulk,  he  would  not 
be  turned  back  by  the  perils  of  any  vantage  point  that 
called  him  and  would  go  where  few  but  trained  and  ac- 
customed workmen  dared  to  follow.  While  the  accom- 
panying engineer  dared  only  trust  to  hands  and  knees, 
Van  Home  walked  imperturbably  on  two  loose  planks 
over  the  Mountain  Creek  trestle,  whence  a  few  days 
previously  several  men  had  crashed  to  death  in  the 
swirling  torrent  of  the  ravine  a  hundred  and  sixty 


Physical  Courage  III 

feet  below,  and  as  imperturbably  returned.  He  was 
equally  devoid  of  apprehension  concerning  his  dignity 
or  appearance.  His  driver  missed  the  ford  at  Seven 
Parsons  Coulee,  and  the  two  were  thrown  into  the 
stream.  While  his  clothing  dried,  Van  Home  spent  the 
rest  of  the  day  in  a  construction  camp,  where,  absorbed 
in  the  problems  of  the  moment,  he  was  oblivious  to  the 
inadequacy  of  his  temporary  garments,  though  these  af- 
forded much  amusement  to  every  man  in  camp.  The 
commissariat  had  not  provided  for  men  of  his  girth, 
and  could  only  furnish  him  with  a  flannel  shirt  and  a 
pair  of  trousers,  split  up  the  back  and  laced  with  a 
clothes  line. 

On  another  occasion  an  engine-driver  demurred  to 
taking  his  train  across  a  dangerous  trestle. 

"Here,"  said  Van  Home,  "get  down,  and  I  '11  take 
her  over  myself." 

"Well,"  said  the  engineer,  "if  you  ain't  afraid,  I  guess 
I  ain't  neither." 

Of  far  more  moment  than  his  courage  and  insouciance 
was  the  enthusiasm  and  faith  in  the  work  with  which 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  he  inspired  the  men  work- 
ing with  and  under  him.  His  boundless  vitality  en- 
abled him,  it  seemed,  to  project  his  own  spirit  into  the 
thousands  of  men  engaged  in  the  work.  He  always 
seemed  to  be  on  the  spot  or  never  far  away.  "Mr.  Van 
Home  dropped  in  on  us  here  and  there,  surveying  the 
work  and  inspiring  it.  We  never  knew  when  he  was 
coming,  but  he  was  so  completely  in  touch  with  all  the 
work  that  he  gave  the  impression  of  being  on  our  section 
all  the  time." 

Coming  from  the  Rockies  to  the  plains  he  found  Cal- 
gary, Medicine  Hat,  and  Regina  rising  out  of  mere  col- 
lections of  shacks  and  tents  into  bustling  towns,  and 


112     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

feverishly  trading  in  town  lots.  Here  and  there  along 
the  line  men  were  harvesting  a  crop  which  fully  justified 
his  earlier  hopes.  The  new  West  was  definitely  taking 
shape.  Winnipeg  already  supported  a  population  of 
over  twenty-five  thousand,  of  whom  six  thousand  were 
dependents  of  the  Canadian  Pacific.  There  he  met  a 
hundred  members  of  the  British  Association  of  Science 
who,  having  held  their  annual  meeting  in  Montreal,  had 
been  invited  by  him  to  see  the  West  for  themselves. 
Seeing  is  believing,  and  he  confidently  expected  that 
upon  their  return  to  Europe  they  would  furnish  an  exten- 
sive and  intelligent  leaven  to  the  prevailing  European 
notion  of  Canada  as  a  land  of  snow  and  wild  Indians. 

The  whole  trip  from  the  Pacific  to  Montreal  filled  him 
with  satisfaction.  The  British  Columbia  coals  were  the 
most  valuable  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  richness  of  the 
fisheries  was  almost  beyond  belief.  The  valleys  of  the 
Selkirks  and  the  Gold  Range  were  covered  with  magnifi- 
cent forests  of  Douglas  fir,  spruce,  and  other  conifera. 
He  had  finally  settled  with  Reed  the  permanent  location 
of  the  line  through  the  mountain  section,  and  whatever 
doubts  he  had  entertained  of  the  value  of  that  region 
had  been  dissipated.  A  careful  study  of  the  prairie  sec- 
tion had  convinced  him  that  the  company  had  made  no 
mistake  in  adopting  the  more  direct  and  southerly  route, 
instead  of  that  by  way  of  the  Yellowhead  Pass.  He 
reported  to  the  directors  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  had 
more  good  agricultural  land,  more  coal,  and  more  tim- 
ber between  Winnipeg  and  the  coast  than  all  the  other 
Pacific  railways  combined,  and  that  every  part  of  the 
line,  from  Montreal  to  the  Pacific,  would  pay. 

While  he  could  rightly  feel  content  with  the  progress 
of  construction  and  the  road's  prospects,  the  company 
was  rapidly  approaching  another  financial  crisis.  In 


Building  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway         113 

March  the  directors  had  hoped  that  the  government  loan 
of  $22,500,000  would  provide  all  the  money  necessary 
to  complete  the  road.  Before  the  close  of  the  year  the 
company  was  heavily  in  debt,  and  it  was  apparent  that 
further  assistance  would  have  to  be  obtained.  A  large 
saving  had  been  effected  on  the  cost  of  the  mountain  sec- 
tion, but  it  had  been  absorbed  in  extra  expenditure  on 
the  Lake  Superior  section.  Under  the  terms  of  the  con- 
tract with  the  government  the  loan  and  subsidy  money 
could  only  be  drawn  from  the  government  for  the  bare 
cost  of  construction  and  a  stipulated  amount  of  rolling- 
stock.  But  other  things  had  been  found  indispensable 
• — terminal  facilities,  workships  and  machinery,  ele- 
vators, and  the  usual  improvements  required  upon  all 
new  railways.  The  lien  given  by  the  company  to  the 
government  as  security  for  the  loan  covered  the  whole 
'  of  its  property  and  stripped  it  of  every  resource  it  pos- 
sessed for  meeting  these  needs,  except  its  unsold  stock. 
That  resource  had  been  rendered  unavailable,  owing  to 
some  extent  to  the  remedies  provided  by  Parliament  in 
case  of  default  by  the  company  in  performing  the  con- 
ditions on  which  the  loan  was  granted,  but  in  greater 
measure  to  the  unfair  and  malevolent  attacks  of  the 
company's  enemies,  acting  in  concert  with  political  op- 
ponents of  the  government  and  aided  by  a  venal  section 
of  the  press. 

Confronted  with  more  than  twenty-six  hundred  miles 
of  completed  railway,  the  Grand  Trunk's  adherents 
could  no  longer  protest  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  was 
merely  a  scheme  "to  take  off  the  hands  of  the  astute 
Canadian  and  American  syndicate  the  bonds  of  a  num- 
ber of  non-dividend  paying  lines"  or  "to  foist  their 
worthless  securities  on  too  confiding  capitalists."  They 
and  other  enemies  of  the  company  had  changed  their 


1 14     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

tactics  and  during  the  whole  of  1884  sought  in  the  most 
unprincipled  and  unpatriotic  manner  and  by  every 
method  of  vilification  and  depreciation  to  wreck  the  en- 
terprise. 

By  these  means  investors  were  alarmed  and  the  stock 
made  practically  unsalable.  It  was  selling  at  about  $60 
a  share  when  the  loan  was  made,  and  it  was  expected  to 
advance  to  $75  or  $80.  It  had,  however,  fallen  below 
$40. 

Notwithstanding  the  emptiness  of  the  company  s 
treasury,  the  directors,  believing  that  the  company's  ul- 
timate financial  salvation  lay  in  a  speedy  opening  of  traf- 
fic over  Canada,  ordered  thousands  of  men  to  be  kept  at 
work  all  through  the  winter.  Material  and  food-sup- 
plies would  go  forward  to  the  men,  and  they  and  the 
contractors  could  wait  for  their  money.  Their  very 
isolation  would  keep  them  on  the  work  until  spring, 
when  money  must  be  forthcoming.  This  bold  course 
was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  reputation  Van  Home 
had  acquired  on  every  part  of  the  line  as  being,  in  some 
sort,  a  superman.  He  inspired  the  business  men  of  the 
country  with  his  unfailing  optimism,  and  the  big  whole- 
sale houses  of  Toronto  and  Montreal  gave  the  road 
credit  and  more  credit,  and  still  more  credit,  to  the 
amount  of  millions.  Supplies  poured  into  the  construc- 
tion sections,  where  Canadian  Pacific  cheques  passed 
as  currency.  Only  a  few  men  knew  that  the  last  links 
of  the  Superior  section  were  being  built  on  faith  and 
credit,  and  not  on  money.  A  small  merchant  in  a  lum- 
bering centre  who  had  supplied  thirty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  meat  on  credit,  being  asked  if  he  were 
not  afraid,  replied,  "I  am  not.  Van  Home  will  carry 
this  thing  through.  If  he  can't,  no  one  can.  Then  I  '11 
start  all  over  again." 


A  Financial  Crisis  115 

With  a  floating  debt  rapidly  approaching  seven  mil- 
lion dollars  and  under  an  imperative  necessity  of  spend- 
ing several  additional  millions  for  equipment,  Stephen 
was  kept  as  busy  refuting  slanders  and  repelling  as- 
saults on  the  company's  credit  as  his  vice-president,  in 
the  field,  was  busy  devising  methods  of  hastening  con- 
struction and  providing  future  traffic.  The  brunt  of 
the  attacks  fell  upon  these  two  men,  who  had  most  rea- 
son to  be  satisfied  with  what  had  been  accomplished. 
They  had  falsified  all  charges  against  the  syndicate  of 
insincerity  in  offering  to  build  the  more  difficult  and 
costly  sections  with  such  small  subsidies.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  had  refuted  the  political  attacks  based  on 
the  grounds  that  the  subsidies  of  cash  and  lands  were 
"wantonly  extravagant"  and  that  the  whole  scheme  was 
one  of  personal  enrichment.  They  had  harnessed  na- 
ture and  accomplished  the  impossible.  Yet  with  the  end 
in  sight,  the  company's  existence  had  never  been  so 
threatened. 

For  Stephen  and  for  Donald  Smith  much  more  than 
the  fate  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  trembling  in  the 
balance.  Merchants  might  give  credit,  sums  due  to 
contractors  be  held  up,  and  wages  be  deferred,  but  pay- 
ments, and  large  payments,  had  to  be  made  to  save  the 
credit  of  the  company.  These  two  determined  Scotch- 
men, who  had  committed  themselves  heart  and  soul  to 
the  undertaking,  stood  nobly  in  the  breach.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  they  had  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 
company  with  loans  obtained  upon  their  personal  credit ; 
now,  for  the  same  purpose,  with  a  courage  that  will  al- 
ways do  them  honor,  they  had  borrowed  heavily  upon 
the  pledge  of  the  securities  they  owned. 

"It  may  be,"  said  Smith  at  a  gloomy  meeting  of  the 
directors,  "that  we  must  succumb,  but  that  must  not 


Ii6     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

be,"  raising  his  voice  and  gazing  around  the  company, 
"as  long  as  we  individually  have  a  dollar. " 

Before  the  issue  was  settled  these  indomitable  and 
persistent  men  had  /pledged  nearly  all  they  possessed  in 
the  world  to  sustain  the  enterprise. 

In  January,  1885,  Sir  John  Macdonald  arrived  in  Mon- 
treal on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  England.  His  seven- 
tieth birthday  was  at  hand,  and  the  "Old  Chieftain"  was 
made  the  object  of  a  popular  demonstration.  He  was 
given  a  public  banquet,  where,  amid  many  glowing  eulo- 
gies of  the  newest  and  greatest  factor  in  Canadian  de- 
velopment, he  stated  that  in  the  whole  annals  of  railway 
construction  there  had  been  nothing  equal  to  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

The  directors  heard  these  fervent  praises  with  gratifi- 
cation, but  they  were  soon  to  learn  the  practical  value  of 
oratory  at  political  celebrations.  Stephen's  request  for 
assistance  met  with  a  firm  refusal  from  the  Premier. 
When  the  last  loan  had  been  made  a  year  earlier  it  had 
been  understood  that  the  company  would  require  no 
further  help ;  yet  here  they  were  again,  knocking  at  Sir 
John's  door  and  demanding  other  millions,  while  rumour 
was  actively  representing  the  directors  as  millionaires 
fattening  on  government  subsidies.  Their  application 
gave  apparent  confirmation  to  the  Opposition's  taunts 
that  the  Canadian  Pacific  meant  to  keep  its  hands  in  the 
government's  pocket  to  pilfer  the  people's  money. 
Many  of  Sir  John's  followers  were  convinced  that  Can- 
ada had  done  enough  for  the  development  of  the  western 
wilderness. 

Stephen's  mission  to  the  Dominion  capital  soon  leaked 
out.  The  press  began  to  hint  alarming  stories :  the  com- 
pany would  not  meet  its  April  dividend;  its  stock  was 
being  attacked  in  the  London  market;  it  was  making 


A  Financial  Crisis  117 

purchases  with  notes  at  four  months,  instead  of  paying 
cash.  The  directors  denied  the  dividend  story;  it  was 
useless  to  deny  the  others.  Shortly  afterwards  the  price 
of  the  stock  fell  below  $34,  and  labourers  were  find- 
ing their  way  back  to  Montreal  from  Sudbury  with  com- 
plaints of  wages  unpaid. 

Van  Home  was  especially  singled  out,  in  press  and 
pamphlet,  for  abuse.  He  was  reproached  with  having 
no  Montreal  antecedents.  "A  Mr.  Hill  of  St.  Paul"  was 
responsible  for  introducing  him  to  the  syndicate,  and 
Mr.  Hill  was  sharply  censured  for  bringing  in  with  him 
men  from  the  western  States,  "individuals  who  work 
after  his  school."  "No  one  but  Mr.  Van  Home  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  Canadian  Pacific  line  as  it  is  located 
and  constructed.  If  there  be  merit  in  the  extraordinary 
rate  at  which  the  track  was  pushed  along  the  level 
prairie,  it  is  his.  If  there  be  blame  in  the  choice  of 
route,  in  the  multitude  of  curves,  in  the  heavy  grades  of 
the  Kicking  Horse  Pass,  in  the  prospect  of  the  railway 
being  periodically  crushed  and  rendered  inoperative  by 
the  descent  of  immense  masses  of  snow  and  ice,  the  fault 
is  his.  Mr.  Van  Home  had  the  whole  unchallenged  di- 
rection of  the  resources  of  the  company." 

One  critic  found  fault  with  the  construction  of  the 
road,  its  bridge-work,  grades  and  curves,  and  asked  the 
public  to  remember  that  the  company  had  dared  to  build 
a  transcontinental  line  without  a  chief  engineer.  "It  is 
a  matter  of  notoriety  that  he  is  the  one  directing  power 
of  the  operations  on  the  ground — Mr.  Van  Home  whose 
experience  has  been  that  of  a  telegraph  operator,  freight 
clerk,  conductor,  and,  I  believe,  general  superintendent; 
who  has  never  had  the  slightest  experience  in  engineer- 
ing duties,  even  in  the  humblest  capacity." 

The  absence  in  England  of  the  company's  political 


1 1 8     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

champion,  Sir  Charles  Tapper,  heightened  the  grave 
anxiety  under  which  Stephen  had  labored  since  Sir  John 
Macdonald  had  so  coldly  received  his  request  for  as- 
sistance. Sir  John,  who  had  political  cares  more  imme- 
diate and  pressing,  was  not  anxious  to  discuss  the  un- 
happy state  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  and  resorted  to  all 
the  tricks  in  the  repertoire  of  the  most  astute  politician 
in  Canadian  history  to  elude  Stephen.  Moreover,  the 
Canadian  Pacific  leaders  were  not  particularly  his 
friends.  He  cherished  a  deep-seated  grudge  against 
Donald  Smith,  who  was  cordially  disliked  by  many  Con- 
servatives and  regarded  as  Sir  John's  personal  enemy. 
Stephen  and  Angus  had  his  esteem,  rather  than  his 
friendship,  and  perhaps  he  had  not  outgrown  his  early 
prejudice  against  the  imported  railway  genius  of  whom 
he  had  spoken  as  "Van  Home,  the  sharp  Yankee"  and 
who  was  distinctly  persona  non  grata  to  his  most 
trusted  adviser,  John  Henry  Pope.  However  this  may 
be,  there  can  be  no  question  that  Sir  John's  position  was 
one  of  great  difficulty.  He  had  to  face  a  strong  Opposi- 
tion and  propitiate  a  watchful  press.  His  followers, 
even  his  cabinet,  were  divided.  And  he  feared  the  fall 
of  his  government  if  he  took  to  Parliament  a  proposal 
which  seemed  to  justify  the  prophecies  of  his  adver- 
saries. 

In  March  Stephen  summed  up  the  position  and  the 
needs  of  the  company  in  a  formal  letter  to  the  Premier. 
He  urged  that  the  unsold  stock  be  cancelled  and  the 
company  be  allowed  to  issue  in  lieu  thereof  first  mort- 
gage bonds  to  the  same  amount,  namely  $35,000,000,  as 
and  when  they  could  be  disposed  of.  He  asked,  in  addi- 
tion, for  a  further  loan  of  $5,000,000,  and  suggested  a 
plan  for  securing  the  government  loan  of  the  previous 
year. 


A  Financial  Crisis  119 

The  negotiations  with  the  government  were  almost 
entirely  conducted  by  Stephen  and  the  company's  gen- 
eral counsel,  John  J.  C.  Abbott,  but  Van  Home,  whose 
duties  kept  him  much  on  the  road,  was  frequently 
required  in  Ottawa  to  fortify  Stephen  with  facts  con- 
cerning the  progress  of  construction  and  current  ex- 
penditure, as  well  as  estimates  of  future  requirements. 
On  these  occasions  he  endeavoured  to  assist  the  negotia- 
tors by  soliciting  the  support  of  the  leading  politicians 
and  business  men  who  congregated  at  the  Rideau  Club 
and  elsewhere.  Some  he  met  were  men  to  whom  the 
company  owed  money,  and  he  used  all  his  powers  to 
strengthen  their  faith  in  the  enterprise,  picturing  its 
splendid  future  in  graphic  words  and  with  unique  vision. 
To  Collingwood  Schreiber  and  Sir  John's  colleagues 
in  the  cabinet  he  painted  equally  vivid  pictures  of  the 
panic  which  would  ensue  if  the  government  refused  its 
aid.  More  than  $92,000,0x30  had  already  been  expended 
on  the  system,  of  which  $55,000,000  was  government 
money.  Such  an  enterprise,  he  urged,  could  not  be  per- 
mitted by  sane  men  to  fail  for  lack  of  a  few  millions 
more.  Banks,  not  alone  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  but 
those  supporting  the  contractors  and  merchants  as  well, 
the  wholesale  houses,  the  whole  country,  were  imperilled, 
and  the  crash  that  might  come  would  injure  Canada  for 
years  in  the  money-markets  of  the  world. 

Succeeding  one  day  in  cornering  Sir  John  himself  in 
a  corridor  of  the  House  of  Commons,  he  said, 

"Sir  John,  we  and  you  are  dangling  over  the  brink  of 
hell!" 

"Well,  Van  Home,"  replied  the  Premier,  "I  hope  it 
will  be  delayed  a  while.     I  don't  want  to  go  just  yet." 

Sir  John  paused  to  speak  to  "an  old  friend,"  and  when, 
a   few   moments   later,   Van   Home   turned  back  to 


I2O     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

the  spot,  the  elusive  statesman  had  disappeared  and  a 
bewildered,  flattered  stranger  stood  in  the  corridor, 
looking  after  him  with  amazement. 

Public  concern  for  the  company's  position  was  daily 
increasing.  Street  gossip  dwelt  on  the  fact  that  its 
stock  did  not  recover  on  the  market.  Mclntyre's  re- 
tirement from  the  board  of  directors,  even  Hill's  with- 
drawal, assumed  special  significance.  The  company  was 
in  extremis.  And  it  nearly  was,  for  a  strike  was  threat- 
ening at  Beavermouth  because  no  pay  was  forthcoming. 
Men  on  the  north  of  Lake  Superior,  wearying  of  the 
wilderness  and  bent  on  getting  away  from  it,  were 
threatening  to  lynch  a  contractor  because  he  could  not — 
they  believed  would  not — pay  them.  Yet,  knowing 
these  things  and  many  more  and  worse,  Van  Home's 
faith  and  confidence  shone  undimmed,  and  he  would  be- 
tray no  weakness  of  the  company  to  the  public. 

One  morning  a  creditor  sought  him,  asked  for  the 
money  due  him,  and  expressed  grave  fears  of  the  out- 
come. Came  the  instant  and  emphatic  reply: 

"Go,  sell  your  boots,  and  buy  C.  P.  R.  stock." 


CHAPTER  XI 

1885.      THE    SECOND    KIEL    REBELLION.      DESPERATE 

FINANCIAL      PLIGHT.      DIFFICULTIES      AT      OTTAWA. 

ANOTHER    GOVERNMENT    LOAN.      THE    LAST    SPIKE. 

SILVER   HEIGHTS.      THE  FIRST  THROUGH   TRAIN. 

THE  position  of  the  company  was,  therefore,  des- 
perate when  one  day  at  Ottawa  Van  Home  was 
depicting  to  Schreiber  the  ruinous  consequences 
if  Sir  John  Macdonald  persisted  in  his  refusal  to  help. 
Schreiber  surprised  him  by  saying  that  Sir  John  and 
some  of  his  colleagues  realized  the  extreme  gravity  of 
the  situation,  but  their  opinion  was  not  shared  by  their 
followers,  and  at  the  moment  the  House  was  more  con- 
cerned over  the  Redistribution  Bill  and  a  threatened 
rebellion  of  the  Metis  Indians  in  the  Northwest. 

Van  Home  jumped  at  the  idea  that  if  the  Canadian 
Pacific  could  put  troops  in  the  West  to  take  the  Metis 
by  surprise  and  crush  the  rebellion,  the  government 
could  not  possibly  refuse  the  desired  financial  aid.  He 
left  Schreiber,  happy  in  the  belief  that  the  idea  would 
solve  all  their  difficulties,  and  at  once  made  an  offer  to 
the  government  to  transport  troops  from  Ottawa  to 
Fort  Qu'Appelle  in  eleven  or  twelve  days,  if  forty-eight 
hours'  notice  were  given  him.  Inasmuch  as  there  were 
a  hundred  miles  of  uncompleted  gaps  in  the  line  north 
of  Lake  Superior,  the  minister  receiving  the  offer  was 
incredulous,  but  on  Van  Home's  assurance  of  his  abil- 
ity to  carry  it  out,  the  offer  was  accepted.  The  only 
alternative  was  to  wait  until  navigation  opened  up  on 


122     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

the  Lakes,  and  in  the  meantime  the  rebellion  would 
make  serious  headway. 

When  the  telegraph  flashed  to  Ottawa  the  first  news 
of  open  revolt,  the  government  called  upon  Van  Home 
to  carry  out  his  plan  as  speedily  as  possible.  He  was 
traveling  to  Toronto  in  his  car  when  the  message  came, 
and  he  kept  the  wires  busy  with  instructions  to  the  com- 
pany's officials  all  along  the  line  and  with  messages  to 
the  Premier,  the  Minister  of  Militia,  and  others.  His 
experience  in  handling  troop-trains  at  Joliet  during  the 
Civil  War  was  now  proving  valuable  to  him.  In  mak- 
ing his  offer  to  transport  troops  he  had  stipulated  that, 
in  order  to  avoid  interference  of  any  kind  by  the  Militia 
Department  and  the  confusion  arising  from  a  division 
of  authority,  both  the  transportation  and  commissariat 
of  the  troops  should  be  under  the  complete  and  exclusive 
control  of  his  company.  Within  forty-eight  hours  of 
the  notice  from  the  government,  trains  were  waiting  at 
Ottawa  for  the  two  batteries  ready  for  the  front ;  and 
so  thoroughly  had  he  laid  his  plans  and  so  efficiently 
were  they  carried  out  that  these  men  disembarked  at 
Winnipeg  four  days  later.  The  impossible  had  again 
been  accomplished. 

The  route  of  the  batteries  and  that  of  thousands  of 
infantry  who  followed  was  by  train  to  the  head  of  steel 
on  Lake  Superior;  thence  for  miles  through  the  frosty 
wilderness  packed  into  open  f  reighting-sleighs ;  again  by 
rail  to  the  next  gap  in  flat-cars  on  which  the  men  sat  or 
lay  exposed  to  biting  winds  and  frost.  There  were  two 
quick  marches  over  the  ice,  and  at  Red  Rock  they  found 
trains  waiting  to  take  them  into  Winnipeg,  Calgary,  or 
Fort  Qu'Appelle.  The  men  from  eastern  shops  and  of- 
fices experienced  all  the  hardships  of  the  winter  trail 
as  they  marched  or  rode  through  the  biting  cold  of  the 


The  Second  Riel  Rebellion  123 

North  Shore.  Their  footwear  was  soaked  during  the 
sunny  day  in  the  slush  on  the  ice  and  frozen  stiff  on  their 
feet  at  night  in  the  open  construction  cars;  but  twice  a 
day  warm  and  plentiful  meals,  with  Van  Home's  in- 
evitable strong  hot  coffee,  were  served  to  them  from 
the  construction  camps;  and  the  journey  ended  without 
serious  suffering  to  any. 

The  prompt  arrival  of  the  troops  resulted  in  the  sec- 
ond Riel  rebellion  being  quelled  before  it  could  set  the 
whole  West  ablaze,  and  demonstrated,  as  nothing  else 
could  have  done,  the  value  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  as 
a  means  of  binding  the  Canadian  provinces.  The  Can- 
adian public  was  so  interested  in  the  rebellion  that  at 
first  it  gave  little  heed  to  this  triumph  of  expeditious 
transport,  though  the  German  General  Staff  was  in- 
stantly so  impressed  by  its  speed  and  efficiency  that  it 
instructed  the  German  consul  to  furnish  a  detailed  re- 
port. Later,  however,  when  the  public  had  time  to  re- 
flect, it  sensed  the  importance  of  the  achievement. 
Criticism  of  the  Lake  Superior  section  was  stilled  and 
its  value  as  a  Canadian  and  Imperial  asset  was  forever 
established.  The  government,  too,  could  palliate  its 
carelessness  in  allowing  the  insurrection  to  rear  its  head 
by  dwelling  on  the  proved  wisdom  of  its  policy  of  in- 
sisting on  an  all-Canadian  railway. 

During  the  negotiations  for  troop  transportation  one 
of  Sir  John's  ministers  had  told  Van  Home  that  if  his 
road  could  carry  it  out  successfully,  "it  would  put  a  new 
face  on  the  question  of  the  loan."  Van  Home  had  de- 
lightedly repeated  this;  and  now,  elated  by  success,  he 
felt  fully  assured  that  the  government  would  recognize 
the  service  as  evidence  of  the  railway's  national  im- 
portance and  promptly  come  to  its  aid.  The  directors, 
however,  were  doomed  to  further  disappointment. 


124     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Sir  John  could  not  yet  see  his  way  to  acknowledge 
that  it  was  practicable  for  him  to  agree  to  a  new  loan. 
While  the  company's  friends  were  growing  embittered 
with  him  for  his  delay,  there  was  strong  opposition 
among  some  of  his  colleagues  and  A.  W.  McLelan,  his 
Minister  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  was  threatening  to 
resign  if  the  loan  was  conceded.  Stephen  was  nearly  all 
the  time  at  Ottawa,  ever  urging  his  case  upon  the  gov- 
ernment. Harassed  by  the  fact  of  the  early  maturity 
of  the  company's  notes  and  of  the  bank's  refusal  to  make 
further  advances,  he  made  what  he  hoped  would  be  a 
final  appeal  to  the  Premier : 

It  is  as  clear  as  noonday,  Sir  John,  that  unless  you  yourself 
say  what  is  to  be  done,  nothing  but  disaster  will  result.  The 
question  is  too  big  for  some  of  our  friends,  and  nothing  but  your 
own  authority  and  influence  can  carry  anything  that  will  accom- 
plish the  object.  ...  I  endeavoured  to  impress  upon  him  [the 
Minister  of  Finance]  again  that  the  object  of  the  present  appli- 
cation to  the  Government  is  to  save  the  life  of  the  Company.  .  .  . 
I  stayed  over  here  to-day  in  case  I  might  be  wanted.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  carry  on  this  struggle  for  life,  in  which  I  have 
now  been  for  four  months  constantly  engaged,  any  longer.  .  .  . 
If  the  Company  is  allowed  once  to  go  to  the  wall  the  remedial 
measures  proposed  will  be  useless,  because  too  late. 

The  appeal  brought  no  response.  A  few  days  later 
Van  Home,  who  by  telegraph  and  personal  visits  was 
keeping  in  constant  touch  with  the  situation  in  Ottawa, 
telegraphed  Stephen: 

"Have  no  means  paying  wages ;  pay  car  can't  be  sent 
out  and  unless  we  get  relief  we  must  stop.  Please  in- 
form Premier  and  Finance  Minister.  Do  not  be  sur- 
prised or  blame  me  if  immediate  and  most  serious  catas- 
trophe happens." 

Still  the  Prime  Minister  vouchsafed  no  reply. 


A  Financial  Crisis  12$ 

Late  one  night,  in  the  lobby  of  the  Russell  House,  two 
of  Sir  John's  colleagues  in  the  cabinet,  Mackenzie 
Bowell  and  Frank  Smith,  sat  discussing  the  subject  of 
the  loan  with  George  H.  Campbell,  another  of  his  parlia- 
mentary supporters.  Campbell  was  one  of  many  friends 
of  the  company  who  had  exerted  all  his  influence  in  be- 
half of  its  application.  Every  effort  had  been  made,  and 
everyone  who  could  assist  in  any  way  had  been  called  in 
to  help.  He  understood  Sir  John's  obduracy  to  be  due 
not  to  his  dislike  of  Donald  Smith  but  to  the  fear  that  the 
government  could  not  carry  a  bill  through  the  House. 
In  the  middle  of  the  discussion  they  saw  Stephen  come 
down  in  the  elevator  and  go  to  the  desk  to  pay  his  bill. 
Realizing  that  he  was  returning  to  Montreal,  Frank 
Smith  said,  "He  must  be  leaving.  I  must  go  and  see 
him."  He  joined  Stephen,  and  then  beckoned  to  his 
companions,  who  went  hurriedly  over  and  heard  Ste- 
phen say,  "No,  I  am  leaving  at  once.  There  is  no  use. 
I  have  just  come  from  'Earnscliffe/  and  Sir  John  has 
given  a  final  refusal.  Nothing  more  can  be  done. 
What  will  happen  tomorrow  I  do  not  know.  The  po- 
sition is  hopeless." 

After  much  persuasion  Smith  induced  Stephen  to  re- 
main in  Ottawa,  promising  that  he  and  Mackenzie  Bow- 
ell  would  make  another  effort  to  secure  Sir  John's  con- 
sent. They  drove  to  Earnscliffe  for  a  midnight  inter- 
view with  the  Premier;  Stephen,  exhausted  by  mental 
strain  and  deferred  hope,  retiring  to  his  room.  They 
returned  two  hours  later,  having  failed  in  their  mission. 
Stephen  was  now  reduced  to  a  condition  of  absolute 
despair  and  convinced  that  the  government  had  deserted 
the  company.  He  was  unusually,  almost  morbidly, 
sensitive.  The  impending  bankruptcy  of  the  company 
and  loss  of  his  entire  private  fortune,  together  with  the 


1 26     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

humiliating  treatment  he  had  received  through  many 
weeks  of  tense  anxiety  at  the  hands  of  Sir  John,  had  at 
length  broken  even  his  resolute  spirit.  He  wept  one 
day  in  Schreiber's  office.  He  remained,  however,  in  Ot- 
tawa upon  the  urging  of  Frank  Smith,  who  pledged  him- 
self to  secure  Sir  John's  consent  or  resign  from  the 
cabinet. 

Among  the  directors  of  the  company,  Van  Home  al- 
most alone  seemed  not  to  know  what  it  was  to  be 
beaten.  He  stood  out,  a  figure  of  sturdy  cheerfulness 
and  buoyant  courage.  A  suggestion  being  made  to  him 
that  whatever  happened  he  need  not  worry  over  the  out- 
come— there  were  as  good  posts  waiting  for  him  in  the 
United  States — he  answered  determinedly: 

"I  'm  not  going  to  the  States.  I  'm  not  going  to  leave 
the  work  I  've  begun,  and  I  am  going  to  see  it  through. 
I  'm  here  to  stay.  I  can't  afford  to  leave  until  this  work 
is  done,  no  matter  what  position  is  open  to  me  in  the 
United  States." 

But  the  apparent  futility  of  his  many  visits  to  Ottawa 
and  of  his  unceasing  efforts  to  impress  the  supporters 
and  friends  of  the  government  to  the  point  of  forcing 
their  leader  to  surrender  could  not  fail  to  depress  him 
and  shake  his  faith.  Failure  meant  the  collapse  of  the 
greatest  railway  enterprise  in  the  world,  one  whose  con- 
trol satisfied  his  every  ambition  as  a  railwayman.  Be- 
sides the  financial  ruin  of  his  friends,  Stephen  and 
Smith,  and  of  many  mercantile  houses,  it  meant  his  own 
return  to  the  United  States,  defeated,  beaten;  not  by 
nature  or  through  lack  of  endeavour,  but  by  political  exi- 
gencies which  it  had  been  impossible  to  estimate  or  to 
foresee  and  over  which  he  had  no  shred  of  control.  He 
was  up  against  a  stone  wall.  Sitting  gloomily  one  day 
in  Schreiber's  office,  he  said  very  slowly  and  softly, 


A  Financial  Crisis  127 

"Say,  if  the  government  does  n't  give  it,  we  are  fin- 
ished!" 

The  one  bright  spot  in  the  darkness  was  the  success 
of  the  indefatigable  and  resourceful  Shaughnessy  who, 
in  Montreal,  was  accomplishing  the  Sisyphean  task  of 
upholding  the  company's  credit.  The  company  owed 
millions,  and  its  treasury  held  but  a  few  borrowed  thou- 
sands ;  but  he  was  making  every  dollar  do  the  work  of  a 
thousand.  By  persuasion  and  promises  of  future 
patronage  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  by  threats 
that  if  they  now  demanded  their  money,  the  company 
would  never  do  another  dollar  of  business  with  them,  he 
was  staving  off  needy  and  importunate  creditors  until 
the  government  came  to  the  rescue. 

Even  as  Van  Home  was  beginning  to  taste  the  bitter- 
ness of  defeat,  the  pressure  of  Frank  Smith  and  the 
forces  marshalled  to  his  aid,  together  with  an  eleventh- 
hour  realization  of  the  consequences  to  himself,  to  his 
party,  and  to  Canada  if  he  took  the  other  path,  forced  the 
Premier  to  yield.  Calling  a  caucus  of  his  followers,  Sir 
John  once  more  swayed  them  by  the  spell  of  his  con- 
summate leadership  and  ensured  the  passage  of  a  meas- 
ure of  relief.  McLelan  alone  remained  obdurate  and 
formally  tendered  his  resignation.  Notice  of  resolu- 
tions in  aid  of  the  company  was  given  by  Sir  John  in  the 
House  on  April  30,  1885. 

The  resolutions  provided  for  the  cancellation  of  the 
$35,000,000  stock  in  the  hands  of  the  government  and 
the  issue  of  $35,000,000  first  mortgage  bonds,  of  which 
$15,000,000  would  be  available  to  the  company  for  dis- 
posal ;  the  government  agreeing  to  accept  the  balance  as 
security  for  an  equal  amount  of  the  company's  indebted- 
ness of  some  $29,880,000  to  the  government.  The  re- 
maining $9,880,000  was  to  be  secured  by  a  second  charge 


ia8     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

on  the  unsold  lands  of  the  company.  The  whole  $29,- 
880,000  was  to  be  repaid  to  the  government  by  May  i, 
1891,  and  the  government  was  authorized  to  make  a 
temporary  loan  of  $5,000,000,  repayable  within  a  year 
and  secured  by  a  deposit  of  $8,000,000  first  mortgage 
bonds,  which  could  be  withdrawn,  pro  tanto,  on  payment 
of  any  part  of  the  loan. 

Nothing  was  to  be  given  for  the  completion  of  the 
contract.  The  only  thing  asked  in  the  shape  of  money 
was  the  temporary  loan  of  $5,000,000,  and  the  security 
was  ample.  With  his  followers  in  line  behind  him,  there 
could,  therefore,  be  no  question  of  Sir  John's  ability  to 
overcome  the  opposition  to  the  measure.  But  Stephen 
and  his  associates  were  yet  to  go  through  many  weeks 
of  terrible  anxiety.  Sir  John  refused  to  give  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  bill  precedence  over  a  hotly  contested  Re- 
distribution Bill,  and  its  passage  through  the  stages  of 
parliamentary  procedure  was  distressingly  slow.  With 
"a  lake  of  money"  ahead,  there  was  still  not  a  drop  to 
satisfy  the  thirsty  creditors  or  tide  over  other  pressing 
needs.  Holders  of  the  company's  notes  were  becoming 
more  and  more  clamorous,  and  Shaughnessy  was  at  his 
wit's  end.  The  company,  therefore,  asked  the  govern- 
ment, as  an  interim  measure  of  assistance  and  to  stave 
off  immediate  disaster,  to  guarantee  the  Bank  of  Mont- 
real in  making  an  advance  of  one  million  dollars. 

On  one  of  the  last  days  in  May,  Van  Home,  with  other 
directors,  waited  in  the  anteroom  to  the  Privy  Council 
chamber  at  Ottawa  for  the  cabinet's  decision,  experi- 
encing the  unpleasant  thrills  of  suppliants  in  suspense 
and  vainly  endeavouring,  through  the  double  doors  of 
the  chamber,  to  catch  the  trend  of  discussion.  Finally,  to 
their  great  relief,  John  Henry  Pope,  ever  the  company's 


Another  Government  Loan  129 

staunch  friend,  came  out  to  intimate  that  the  government 
would  guarantee  an  advance  of  a  million  by  the  bank; 
and  Van  Home  raced  joyously  to  the  company's  office  to 
telegraph  the  glad  news  to  Shaughnessy.  The  operator 
seemed  so  slow  that  Van  Home  impatiently  pushed  him 
aside  and  ticked  off  the  message  himself. 

On  the  strength  of  the  government's  guaranty  this 
sum  was  advanced  in  instalments  by  the  bank,  and  was 
paid  out  as  soon  as  received.  It  was  little  more  than  the 
proverbial  drop  in  a  bucket.  But  by  this  means  and  by 
extensions  of  time  extorted  from  reluctant  creditors  the 
company  was  barely  enabled  to  keep  its  head  above 
water.  And  only  barely.  By  the  middle  of  July  the 
Canadian  Pacific  bill  had  not  yet  become  law.  Overdue 
obligations  were  piling  up.  Construction  could  not  be 
stopped.  Every  day  was  pregnant  with  disaster. 

On  July  13  Stephen  and  J.  J.  C.  Abbott  journeyed  to 
Ottawa  to  get  Sir  John's  answer  to  a  last  despairing  ap- 
peal for  immediate  action  or  further  aid.  The  cabinet 
was  in  session  in  the  council  chamber,  and  they  waited 
in  the  anteroom.  They  sat  patiently  watching  the  cham- 
ber door  through  the  long  hot  afternoon,  and  did  not 
learn  until  a  late  hour  that,  shortly  after  their  arrival, 
the  ministers  had  departed,  unseen  and  unheard  by 
them,  by  another  door. 

"I  feel,"  said  Stephen,  utterly  broken  and  dejected, 
"like  a  ruined  man." 

"On  one  fateful  day  in  July,"  writes  Professor  Skel- 
ton,  "when  the  final  passage  of  the  bill  was  being  tensely 
awaited,  the  Canadian  Pacific,  which  now  borrows  fifty 
millions  -any  day  before  breakfast,  was  within  three 
hours  of  bankruptcy  for  lack  of  a  few  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars."  But  so  skilfully  and  shrewdly  had 


130    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Shaughnessy  handled  the  company's  creditors  that  no 
claim  had  been  pressed  with  a  lawsuit  and  no  note  of 
the  company  had  gone  to  protest. 

The  bill  finally  passed  on  July  20,  and  the  tempor- 
ary loan  of  $5,000,000  became  immediately  available. 
The  sequel  may  as  well  be  told  here.  Under  the  terms 
of  the  enactment  the  directors  were  now  in  a  position  to 
dispose  of  $15,000,000  first  mortgage  bonds.  The  prob- 
lem was  to  find  a  buyer.  It  was  decided  that  Stephen 
should  go  to  London  and  approach  the  great  banking 
house  of  Barings.  He  was  greatly  astonished  and  de- 
lighted beyond  measure  when,  early  in  an  interview 
with  the  head  of  the  firm,  Lord  Revelstoke  interrupted 
him  and  stated  that  he  was  prepared  to  purchase  the 
whole  issue  at  91%  per  cent,  and  to  make  the  entire 
payment  within  a  month. 

Van  Home  and  Angus  were  together  in  the  board- 
room when  Stephen's  cablegram  announcing  the  glad 
news  reached  them.  They  could  only  give  vent  to  their 
relief  and  their  joy  by  capering  about  like  boys  and  by 
kicking  the  furniture. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  was  yet  to  pass  through  many 
periods  of  financial  stringency  and  more  than  once  to 
touch  the  bottom  of  its  purse.  But  never  again  had  its 
directors  to  ask  the  government  of  Canada  to  help 
them  with  the  loan  of  a  single  dollar. 

By  the  first  of  July  in  the  following  year,  1886,  the 
company  paid  off  all  its  debt  to  the  government,  $20,- 
000,000  in  cash  and  the  balance  in  lands  at  $1.50  an 
acre. 

During  the  whole  of  the  period  covered  by  these  pain- 
ful experiences  with  the  Dominion  government  con- 
struction had  been  going  steadily  forward.  In  May 
there  was  a  continuous  line  from  Callander  to  Port  Ar- 


Driving  the  Last  Spike  131 

thur.  By  June  the  rails  were  laid  to  a  point  near  the 
summit  of  the  Selkirks,  forming  a  continuous  connec- 
tion from  Montreal  westward  for  a  distance  of  nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  miles.  The  government  section  of 
two  hundred  and  thirteen  miles  between  Port  Moody  and 
Savona's  Ferry,  better  known  as  the  Onderdonk  section 
from  the  name  of  the  contractor  who  built  it,  was  fin- 
ished ;  and  the  section,  which  had  been  operated  for  some 
time  past  by  the  contractor,  would  soon  be  handed  over 
to  the  company.  On  the  section  between  Savona's 
Ferry  and  the  Selkirks,  the  only  remaining  gap  between 
Montreal  and  the  Pacific,  the  work  was  so  advanced 
as  to  justify  the  expectation  that  the  rails  would  be 
laid  before  the  end  of  September.  Moreover,  negotia- 
tions were  concluded  for  the  acquisition  of  a  line  owned 
by  the  Province  of  Quebec,  running  along  the  north 
shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  between  Montreal  and  Que- 
bec, which  would  give  the  company  the  desired  exit  for 
its  summer  traffic. 

The  last  remaining  gap  from  the  Selkirks  westward 
was  rapidly  closed.  On  November  7,  1885,  the  track- 
layers met  at  a  spot  in  Eagle  Pass  between  Sicamous  and 
the  slopes  of  the  Gold  Range,  and  here,  in  the  presence 
of  Van  Home,  Sandford  Fleming,  James  Ross,  and 
several  of  the  company's  officers,  and  surrounded  by 
workingmen,  Donald  Smith,  always  "in  the  van/'  drove 
the  last  iron  spike  of  the  millions  which  linked  Mon- 
treal with  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  spike  being  held  in  place 
by  Major  Rogers. 

"The  last  spike/'  Van  Home  had  said,  "will  be  just 
as  good  an  iron  one  as  there  is  between  Montreal  and 
Vancouver,  and  anyone  who  wants  to  see  it  driven  will 
have  to  pay  full  fare." 

But  the  blows  that  drove  the  iron  home  reverberated 


132     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

throughout  the  Empire.  They  drove  the  final  rivet  in 
the  bond  that  unites  the  nine  provinces  of  Canada  and 
makes  one  nation  of  their  peoples.  They  brought  Yoko- 
hama several  hundred  miles  nearer  to  Liverpool  and 
London.  They  enabled  the  merchants  of  Montreal  and 
Toronto  to  stretch  out  and  grasp  the  products  of  the 
valleys  of  the  Fraser  and  the  Columbia  and  trade  di- 
rectly with  the  tea-growers  and  silk-weavers  of  Japan 
and  China.  They  opened  to  the  farmers  of  Manitoba 
and  to  the  colonists  on  the  Pacific  coast  new  and  greater 
markets  for  their  crops,  their  coals,  their  forests,  their 
fish,  and  their  ores.  They  added  a  great  Imperial  high- 
way to  the  defences  of  the  Empire. 

The  station  which  was  erected  to  mark  the  spot  where 
this  simple  ceremony  took  place  was  called  Craigellachie. 

"At  the  inception  of  the  enterprise,"  wrote  Van 
Home,  "one  of  the  members  of  the  syndicate  wrote  Mr. 
Stephen,  pointing  out  they  were  all  now  fortunately 
situated  and  in  going  into  the  Canadian  Pacific  enter- 
prise they  might  only  be  courting  trouble  for  their  old 
age,  and  urging  that  they  ought  to  think  twice  before 
committing  themselves  irrevocably.  To  this  Stephen 
answered  in  one  word,  'Craigellachie' — which  appealed 
to  the  patriotism  of  his  associates,  and  not  another 
doubt  was  expressed.  It  was  a  reference  to  the  familiar 
lines,  'Not  until  Craigellachie  shall  move  from  his 
firm  base,  etc/  I  heard  of  this  when  I  first  became  con- 
nected with  the  company,  and  was  much  impressed  by 
it,  and  determined  that  if  I  were  still  with  the  company 
when  the  last  rail  should  be  laid,  the  spot  should  be 
marked  by  a  station  to  be  named  'Craigellachie/  ' 

"Stand  fast !  Craigellachie !"  was  the  heartening  slo- 
gan which  the  cable  had  flashed  across  the  Atlantic 
from  Stephen  to  his  associates  when  the  company  seemed 


Driving  the  Last  Spike  133 

tottering  to  its  fall.  And  they  had  stood  fast.  Stephen 
and  Van  Home  had  reason  to  be  proud  of  their  accom- 
plishment as  they  stood  there  with  the  workmen  almost 
in  the  shadow  of  the  towering  Selkirks  which  they  had 
harnessed  and  broken  to  their  wills.  Only  forty-six 
months  had  elapsed  since  Van  Home's  arrival  in  Can- 
ada, and  he  had  flung  "across  the  vast  unpeopled  spaces 
of  a  continent/'  a  railway  which  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
the  Canadian  Premier,  had  declared  in  1875  "could  not 
likely  be  completed  in  ten  years  with  all  the  power  of 
men  and  all  the  money  of  the  Empire."  Ten  years  had 
been  allowed  the  company  by  the  government  for  the 
completion  of  the  line.  Van  Home  had  built  it  in  less 
than  five,  and  had  smashed  all  records  in  railway 
building. 

And  still  as  he  strove  he  conquered 

And  laid  his  foes  at  his  feet. 
Inimical  powers  of  nature, 

Tempest  and  flood  and  fire, 
The  spleen  of  fickle  seasons 

That  loved  to  baulk  his  desire, 
The  breath  of  hostile  climates 

The  ravage  of  blight  and  dearth,  .  .  . 

'He,  with  a  keener  weapon 

The  sword  of  his  wit,  overcame. 

His  unprecedented  speed  had  been  repeatedly  at- 
tacked as  an  extravagant  and  unreasonable  policy,  but 
the  people  had  come  to  realize  what  he  and  his  colleagues 
had  perceived  from  the  very  beginning,  namely,  that  the 
Canadian  Pacific  had  to  be  built  with  the  greatest  pos- 
sible speed  or  it  would  involve  its  builders  in  disaster 
and  throw  back  the  development  of  Canada  for  a  genera- 
tion. But  whatever  fame  attaches  to  his  name  for  his 


134     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

unparalleled  feat  of  railway  construction,  he  would  have 
been  helpless  without  the  zealous  cooperation  of  a  de- 
voted staff:  the  construction  managers  and  engineers, 
the  operators  of  completed  mileage,  and,  not  least,  the 
able  band  of  officials  at  Montreal  upon  whose  exertions 
the  progress  of  the  railway  builders  was  largely  de- 
pendent. 

If  his  share  in  the  achievement  were  the  more  spec- 
tacular, he  always  insisted  that  Stephen's  had  been  the 
more  difficult.  "My  part  was  easy.  I  only  had  to  spend 
the  money,  but  Stephen  had  to  find  it  when  nobody  in 
the  world  believed  in  it  but  ourselves."  It  had  been 
Stephen's  task  to  find  the  sinews  of  war  under  the  most 
adverse  conditions ;  to  wring  assistance  from  an  unwill- 
ing government;  to  battle  with  powerful  and  unscrupu- 
lous enemies  in  the  money  markets;  and  through  all  to 
uphold  the  faith  of  associates,  shareholders,  and  cred- 
itors. He  was  a  man  of  great  possessions,  but  he  had 
not  hesitated  to  stake  them  all.  His  determination  and 
courage,  which  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  faltered,  even 
in  the  bitterest  moments  of  his  struggle  at  Ottawa,  had 
been  the  decisive  force  for  victory. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  "the  Canadian  Pacific  is  as 
truly  a  monument  of  public  as  of  private  faith,"  but  that 
such  a  monument  was  erected  as  early  as  1885  was  due, 
before  all  else,  to  the  courage  and  energy  of  these  two 
men  and  to  the  loyal  support  given  them  by  their  col- 
leagues, Donald  Smith  and  R.  B.  Angus. 

Congratulatory  messages  poured  in  upon  the  little 
party  from  the  Queen,  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  and  other 
notabilities.  Her  Majesty,  early  in  1886,  marked  her 
high  appreciation  of  Stephen's  splendid  services  by  be- 
stowing a  baronetcy  upon  him.  In  the  following  May 


Silver  Heights  135 

Smith  was  created  a  Knight  Commander  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Michael  and  St.  George. 

The  completion  of  the  main  line  and  the  return  jour- 
ney of  the  official  party  who  witnessed  it  afforded  Van 
Home  an  opportunity  for  springing  upon  them  one  of 
the  surprises  which  he  loved  to  plot.  One  of  Smith's 
several  Canadian  residences  was  "Silver  Heights/'  a 
few  miles  outside  of  Winnipeg.  He  had  ceased  to  oc- 
cupy it  since  business  cares  had  compelled  him  to  divide 
his  time  between  Montreal  and  London.  It  was  now 
closed,  servantless,  and  only  partly  furnished.  To  cele- 
brate the  road's  completion,  Van  Home  conceived  the 
idea  of  giving  Smith  a  surprise  party  at  his  own  house. 
Spare  rails  and  sleepers  were  used  to  build  a  spur  from 
Winnipeg  to  the  house,  cooks  and  domestics  were  hastily 
engaged,  furniture  hired,  and  good  things  to  eat  and 
drink  sent  up.  Within  a  week  all  was  ready.  When 
the  special  train  entered  the  spur,  Smith  was  talking 
and  did  not  notice  that  the  train  was  backing.  At  last 
he  happened  to  look  out  of  the  window. 

"  4Why,  we  are  backing  up,'  he  said;  and  then,  'Now 
there  's  a  very  neat  place.  I  don't  remember  seeing  that 
farm  before.  And  those  cattle — why,  who  is  it  besides 
myself,  that  has  Aberdeen  cattle  like  that?  I  thought  I 
was  the  only  one.  This  is  really  very  strange/  Sud- 
denly the  house  came  into  view.  'Why,  gentlemen,  I 
must  be  going  crazy.  I  Ve  lived  here  many  years  and  I 
never  noticed  another  place  so  exactly  like  "Silver 
Heights/' ' 

"  'Silver  Heights/  called  the  conductor.  The  car 
stopped  and  some  of  us  began  to  betray  our  enjoyment 
of  the  joke.  After  another  glance  outside  he  began  to 
laugh  too.  I  never  saw  him  so  delighted/' 


136     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

On  the  evening  of  June  28,  1886,  a  throng  of  Mon- 
treal's citizens  assembled  at  the  Dalhousie  Square  sta- 
tion to  witness  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  the  history 
of  the  Canadian  nation  since  the  confederation  of  the 
provinces.  The  first  through  train  from  the  city  of 
Maisonneuve  to  the  Pacific  was  standing  there.  The 
guns  of  the  Montreal  field  battery  boomed  as  it  slowly 
drew  out  upon  its  long  journey  of  2905  miles. 


CHAPTER  XII 

1885-86.        CREATING        TRAFFIC.        SLEEPING-CARS. 

POLITENESS.       EXTENSIONS.       SNOWSHEDS.       PLACES 

ON    THE   MAP.      THE  VAN    HORNE   RANGE.       PACIFIC 

STEAMSHIPS. 

UPON  his  return  from  Silver  Heights  to  Mon- 
treal Van  Horne  found  a  letter  awaiting  him 
from  Jason  C.  Easton,  the  Wisconsin  banker 
and  railway  president. 

"I  am  counting  the  time  when  your  five  years'  en- 
gagement with  the  Canadian  Pacific  will  be  up,"  he 
wrote,  and  if  Van  Horne  were  at  liberty  to  accept  it, 
a  presidency  would  be  offered  him  in  his  old  field,  "and 
your  acceptance  would  make  me  the  happiest  man  in 
America." 

But  if  Van  Horne  had  been  free  to  leave,  he  could 
not  have  been  tempted  to  abandon  the  immense  field  for 
the  exercise  of  his  creative  energies  which  Canada  still 
afforded  him.  The  main  line  was  complete,  the  rail- 
way, as  an  efficient  transportation  system,  was  hardly 
begun.  The  quality  and  character  of  the  line  built 
by  the  company  was  everywhere  of  a  higher  standard 
than  that  fixed  in  the  contract  with  the  government. 
But  the  rapidity  of  construction  had  necessitated  the 
use  of  temporary  structures  which  had  to  be  replaced. 
Stone  or  steel  must  eventually  be  substituted  for  wood 
in  thousands  of  culverts  and  bridges.  Vast  stretches  of 
trestle-work  must  be  replaced  by  permanent  structures 
or  filled  in.  Work  of  this  kind  had  already  been  be- 

137 


138     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

gun,  but  years  would  elapse  before  the  roadbed  could 
be  finished  in  permanent  material.  Operating  equip- 
ment, rolling-stock  of  all  kinds,  shops,  yards,  engine 
houses,  stations,  docks,  and  the  thousand  and  one  neces- 
sities of  a  railway  must  be  provided  for  the  unexpected 
development  of  traffic  already  reached  and  for  the  still 
greater  volume  of  traffic  which  was  certain  to  follow. 
Construction  of  branch  lines  in  the  East  and  the  West 
must  go  vigorously  forward.  Profitable  connections 
had  to  be  established  with  American  lines.  Everywhere 
along  the  line  traffic  had  to  be  stimulated  and,  indeed, 
created. 

So  far  as  the  direction  of  construction  had  permitted 
Van  Home  from  the  beginning  had  given  his  keenest 
attention  to  the  development  of  traffic.  Upon  his  ar- 
rival in  Canada  almost  his  first  question  to  Stephen  had 
been,  "Have  you  given  away  the  telegraph,  the  express, 
the  sleeping-cars?"  Receiving  a  negative  reply,  he  ad- 
vised the  company  to  adopt  the  policy  of  retaining  all 
these  auxiliary  services  which  earlier  American  and 
Canadian  railways  had  relinquished  to  external  com- 
panies. Everything  out  of  which  money  could  be  made 
was  to  belong  to  the  company,  and  no  friend  or  director 
— least  of  all  himself — was  to  profit  by  a  personal  in- 
terest in  any  service  which  could  properly  be  undertaken 
by  the  company  itself.  "I  expect,"  he  said,  "the  side- 
shows to  pay  the  dividend."  In  the  light  of  his  experi- 
ence, "express  companies  take  all  the  cream  off  the  parcel 
traffic  and  leave  the  skim-milk  to  the  railroads." 

In  1882,  therefore,  he  had  procured  the  incorporation 
of  the  Dominion  Express  Company,  whose  stock  was  all 
owned  by  the  Canadian  Pacific,  to  carry  on  the  express 
service  of  the  line,  and  obtained  a  capable  manager 
from  an  American  express  company  at  St.  Louis.  In 


Creating  Traffic  139 

somewhat  similar  fashion  he  established  the  Canadian 
Pacific  telegraph  service.  With  every  mile  of  railway 
constructed  the  telegraph  poles  were  erected  and  wires 
strung,  and  a  telegraph  service  was  provided  from  one 
end  of  the  road  to  the  other  and  at  all  points  touched  by 
the  various  branch  lines.  To  establish  the  service  on  a 
nationally  commercial  basis,  he  created  a  telegraph  de- 
partment which  he  placed  under  the  direction  of  Charles 
R.  Hosmer. 

As  soon  as  the  road  had  crossed  the  prairies,  Van 
Home  had  the  bleaching  buffalo  bones  collected  and 
shipped  to  eastern  factories.  American  cattlemen  were 
invited  over  to  the  rich  grass  regions  of  the  Terri- 
tories and  a  beginning  was  made  in  live-stock  traffic. 
Wherever  he  went  in  Manitoba  he  kept  reminding  peo- 
ple that  "men  can  grow  the  goose  wheat  or  any  other 
soft  kind  in  many  places,  but  no  country  can  grow  a 
finer  quality  than  you  can  right  here  in  Canada.  Don't 
neglect  your  opportunity."  A  study  of  the  kinds  of 
wheat  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climatic  conditions 
led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  "Red  Fife,"  which 
had  been  introduced  by  a  settler  from  Scotland,  pro- 
duced the  finest  crop,  and  as  an  inducement  to  its  wider 
adoption  he  offered  to  carry  it  free  for  any  farmer  buy- 
ing it  for  seed. 

Before  Van  Home's  arrival  in  Canada  flat  ware- 
houses had  been  employed  for  the  storage  of  grain.  His 
experience  in  Minnesota  enabled  him  to  point  out  that 
if  Canada  desired  a  reputation  for  grain  of  superior 
quality,  it  must  have  more  modern  elevators  in  which 
the  grain  could  be  satisfactorily  cleaned  and  graded. 
The  first  elevator  at  Fort  William  which  had  a  capacity 
of  one  million  bushels,  looked  so  large  that  it  was  prophe- 
sied that  there  never  would  be  grain  enough  in  the  West 


140    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

to  fill  it.  But  by  1886  other  large  elevators  had  been 
built  at  Port  Arthur  and  Owen  Sound,  and  a  chain  of 
small  receiving  elevators  had  been  erected  at  way-sta- 
tions, extending  three  hundred  miles  west  of  Winnipeg. 

The  economy  exercised  in  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
way, its  light  gradients  and  easy  curvature,  and  the  com- 
pany's freedom  from  a  heavy  load  of  fixed  charges 
enabled  the  company  to  establish  tolls  for  the  carriage 
of  passengers  and  freight  far  lower  than  those  of  neigh- 
bouring lines  in  the  United  States.  Before  the  close  of 
1885  the  wisdom  of  that  policy  was  already  manifest  in 
the  development  of  business  along  the  line. 

Appreciative  of  the  value  to  the  railway  of  uniform 
politeness  and  courtesy  to  passengers  and  customers, 
Van  Home  succeeded  in  imbuing  the  personnel  of  its 
service  with  the  same  appreciation. 

"You  are  not,"  he  said,  rebuking  a  conductor  who  had 
quarrelled  with  an  irritable  passenger,  "to  consider  your 
personal  feelings  when  you  are  dealing  with  these  peo- 
ple. You  should  not  have  any.  You  are  the  road's 
while  you  are  on  duty;  your  reply  is  the  road's;  and 
the  road's  first  law  is  courtesy." 

He  had  a  way  of  "getting  men  to  do  work  well  simply 
because  it  made  him  happier,"  and  the  train-  and  station- 
men  were  quick  to  respond.  They  exhibited  a  pride  in 
the  road  and  its  equipment,  in  the  grandeur  of  the 
scenery  through  which  it  passed,  and  manifested  an 
anxiety  to  please  which  greatly  gratified  the  patrons  of 
the  line.  "It  was  quite  touching,"  wrote  Lady  Mac- 
donald,  "and  something  new  in  railway  life  to  find  the 
brakemen  .  .  .  grieving  over  the  smoke  and  apologizing 
for  it." 

Lest  this  attractive  feature  of  the  service  should  fail 
of  public  recognition,  Van  Home  caused  posters  to  be 


Creating  Traffic  141 

printed  and  stuck  up  in  Montreal,  Toronto,  and  Winni- 
peg, bearing  the  legend, 

PARISIAN    POLITENESS 

On  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 

He  followed  up  this  eccentric  announcement  with 
others  still  more  bizarre. 

"HOW  HIGH  WE  LIVE,"  SAID  THE  DUKE  TO  THE  PRINCE, 

On  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
and 

GRUB    GALORE 

On  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 

directed  public  attention  to  the  size  and  quality  of  meals 
served  in  the  company's  dining-cars. 
The  grotesque  distortion  of  a  name  in 

BY  THUNDER! 
Bay  Passes  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 

stamped  indelibly  on  the  mind  the  fact  that  the  com- 
pany's trains,  on  their  way  westward  to  the  prairies 
and  the  Pacific,  now  skirted  the  romantic  shores  of 
Lake  Superior. 

Having  inaugurated,  so  far  as  its  facilities  and  re- 
sources would  permit,  the  policy  of  the  company  building, 
owning,  and  maintaining  all  its  rolling-stock,  Van  Home 
took  special  interest  in  designing  the  sleeping-  and  par- 
lor-cars so  that  they  should  furnish  the  maximum  of 
comfort  and  offer  an  aesthetic  appeal.  He  engaged  the 
artists  Colonna  and  Price  for  their  interior  decoration, 
supplementing  or  modifying  their  designs  in  accordance 
with  the  dictates  of  his  own  taste.  Illustrating  with  a 


142     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

comical  sketch  the  discomfort  of  a  tall  fat  man  miser- 
ably drawn  up  in  one  of  the  short  berths  with  which  the 
sleeping-cars  on  American  railways  were  fitted,  he  had 
the  Canadian  Pacific  cars  constructed  of  larger  dimen- 
sions in  height  and  width  and  equipped  with  longer  and 
wider  berths. 

Upon  completion  of  the  main  line,  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific pushed  out  vigorous  tentacles  in  every  direction  in 
its  search  for  traffic.  Branches  or  extensions  were 
rapidly  constructed  to  Buckingham,  near  Ottawa,  to  se- 
cure the  traffic  afforded  by  the  phosphate  mines  on  the 
Lievre  River;  to  the  copper  mines  near  Sudbury;  to 
Vancouver  and  New  Westminster  in  British  Columbia ; 
to  Holland,  Whitewater  Lake,  and  Deloraine  in  Mani- 
toba. Connections  were  made  with  independent  lines 
running  from  Dunmore  to  the  coal-mines  at  Lethbridge, 
and  from  Regina  to  Long  Lake.  The  extension  of  the 
Ontario  and  Quebec  was  advancing  to  Montreal,  where 
a  bridge  in  course  of  erection  over  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  a  short  line  connecting  the  bridge  with  the  South 
Eastern,  already  principally  owned  by  the  company, 
would  enable  the  Canadian  Pacific  to  form  a  connection 
with  the  Boston  and  Lowell  and  obtain  access  to  the  New 
England  states  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  A  bridge 
was  also  begun  over  St.  Mary's  River  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  in  concert  with  the  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  or  "Soo"  line  and  the  Duluth,  South 
Shore  and  Atlantic,  by  means  of  which  a  direct  line, 
extremely  advantageous  in  point  of  distance,  would  be 
furnished  to  Chicago,  Duluth,  and  St.  Paul.  Another 
extension  of  the  Ontario  and  Quebec  from  Woodstock 
to  the  Detroit  River  was  nearing  completion.  And  an 
agreement  was  made  with  the  government  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  so-called  "Short  Line  Railway,"  run- 


Creating  Traffic  143 

ning  from  Montreal  by  way  of  Sherbrooke  and  Lake 
Megantic  and  across  the  state  of  Maine  to  a  connection 
with  the  railway  system  of  the  provinces  of  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Nova  Scotia.  In  order  to  give  the  "Short 
Line"  access  to  the  Atlantic,  Stephen  had  obtained  Sir 
John  Macdonald's  assurance  that  he  would  give  the 
Canadian  Pacific  running  rights  over  the  Intercolonial 
Railway,  owned  by  the  government,  to  the  ports  of  St. 
John  and  Halifax. 

In  1886  Van  Home  took  the  first  of  his  annual  inspec- 
tion trips  from  Montreal  to  the  Pacific.  On  these  trips 
he  was  invariably  accompanied  by  some  of  his  co-direc- 
tors and  other  chosen  friends,  and  they  became  famous 
for  good  company  and  good  cheer,  and  for  the  bound- 
less vitality,  bonhomie,  and  practical  jokes  of  the  host. 
Seated  in  the  observation  compartment  of  his  private 
car,  the  "Saskatchewan,"  Van  Home  spent  the  days 
in  following  with  critical  eyes  the  thousands  of  miles 
of  steel  which  vanished  in  rock  cuttings  or  tunnels  or 
was  merged  in  the  distance,  and  in  discussing  local  prob- 
lems with  divisional  superintendents  and  engineers  who 
traveled  with  him  over  the  sections  of  the  line  under 
their  supervision.  At  night  his  car  stood  in  a  siding, 
and  the  party  retired  at  a  late  hour  after  a  game  of 
poker  and  an  evening  full  of  fun. 

On  the  Lake  Superior  section  he  saw  a  large  amount 
of  work  being  carried  on  in  widening  cuttings,  raising 
and  widening  embankments,  ballasting,  and  filling  tres- 
tles. Heavy  work  was  also  being  done  in  filling  the 
insatiable  muskegs  so  as  to  provide  a  solid  roadbed  for 
the  track.  Before  it  was  finally  filled  in  a  famous  mus- 
keg west  of  Port  Arthur  swallowed  up,  one  after  the 
other,  seven  layers  of  rails,  and  when  Van  Home's  train 
passed  over  it  the  track  crept  and  rose  and  fell  in  waves 


144     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  many  inches.  A  director  objected  to  returning  over 
this  dangerous  stretch,  and  Van  Home  humoured  him. 
He  brought  him  back  the  same  way  at  night,  when  he 
was  asleep. 

In  the  prairie  section  there  was  an  increasing  move- 
ment of  immigrants,  and  the  grazing  country  that 
spreads  eastward  from  the  base  of  the  Rockies  was  rap- 
idly filling  up  with  cattle  from  eastern  Canada  and  the 
United  States.  He  found  the  line  throughout  this  sec- 
tion in  a  satisfactory  condition.  He  had  shown  this  to 
be  the  case  in  1885,  when  opponents  of  the  road  had 
alleged  that  its  hasty  construction  had  resulted  in  slip- 
shod work  and  an  unsafe  track.  He  had  countered 
them  by  inviting  prominent  residents  of  eastern  Canada 
to  accompany  him  from  Winnipeg  to  the  foothills  of  the 
Rockies,  promising  to  cover  the  distance  of  eight  hun- 
dred and  forty  miles  between  dawn  and  dusk.  In  the 
long  July  days  of  the  Northwest  this  promise  was  safely 
fulfilled,  and  the  travelers  were  sent  home  as  living 
refutations  of  the  attacks  upon  the  roadbed  and  equip- 
ment. 

A  large  amount  of  work  remained  to  be  done  to  place 
the  mountain  section  in  effective  working  order,  but  the 
weightiest  problem  to  be  solved  was  the  protection  of 
roadbed  and  trains  from  the  mountain  avalanches  which 
had  been  regarded  by  many  as  an  insuperable  objection 
to  the  route  through  Kicking  Horse  and  Rogers  passes. 
During  the  winter  of  1885-86  a  little  band  of  engineers 
had  remained  in  the  mountains  with  their  snowshoes 
and  dog-trains  to  observe  the  snow-slides.  Upon  their 
report  there  were  now  building  thirty-five  snowsheds 
with  a  total  length  of  four  miles,  so  designed  as  to  carry 
avalanches  over  their  sloping  roofs  without  injury  to 
the  roadbed — the  first  of  their  type  on  the  continent. 


Snow-Slides  and  Snoivsheds  145 

These  did  not  entirely  solve  the  problem,  for  year  after 
year  the  engineers  reported  new  slides  and  the  need 
of  snowshed  extensions.  In  1887  nine  men,  rebuilding 
a  demolished  bridge,  were  carried  of!  by  a  fresh  aval- 
anche and  buried  forever  in  the  white  silences.  In  the 
same  season  an  Imperial  representative,  sent  out  to 
study  the  availability  of  the  road  as  a  mail  route  to  the 
Orient,  was  detained  for  thirty-three  days  by  snow- 
slides.  Eventually  the  snowsheds  were  improved  by  a 
system  of  triangular  glance-works,  suggested  by  Van 
Home,  which  guided  the  avalanches  and  directed  their 
course  right  and  left  from  the  openings  which  had  to 
be  left  as  fire-breaks  between  the  sheds.  This  develop- 
ment, however,  was  still  unthought  of  when  he  and  his 
guests  crossed  the  mountains  in  1886. 

From  Nipissing  to  Vancouver  the  party  passed 
through  rising  villages  and  settlements  and  stations 
which  he  had  taken  great  delight  in  naming.  Majestic 
Mount  Stephen  and  shining  Mount  Sir  Donald  commem- 
orated the  names  of  the  greatest  of  his  associates,  while 
Estevan  and  Leanchoil,  their  cable  code-names,  further 
immortalized  the  memory  of  the  same  two  Scotch- 
Canadians.  Among  many  others,  the  names  of  Hem- 
ing,  Langevin,  Bowell,  Tilley,  Palliser,  Keef  er,  Moberly, 
Cartier,  Schreiber,  Caron,  Secretan,  and  Crowfoot  bore 
testimony  to  Van  Home's  appreciation  of  services  ren- 
dered the  road.  Revelstoke,  Clanwilliam,  Lathom,  Glei- 
chen,  Boissevain,  and  Eldon  recalled  the  names  of  some 
of  the  company's  adherents  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Agassiz  had  been  remembered.  There  were 
names  to  commemorate,  builders,  politicians,  engineers, 
bishops,  mounted  policemen,  and  Indian  chiefs,  but 
there  was  no  Van  Home.  When,  in  1884,  an  enthusias- 
tic admirer  had  changed  the  name  of  Savona's  Ferry  to 


146     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

Van  Home,  the  general  manager  had  promptly  restored 
the  name  of  the  old  pioneer  who  had  dwelt  by  the  river 
since  the  days  of  the  gold  rush.  His  own  name,  how- 
ever, was  soon  to  be  used  by  another,  when  Dr.  Vaux, 
the  Alpine  climber  of  Philadelphia,  named  the  Van 
Home  range  of  mountains  in  British  Columbia. 

The  train  ended  its  westward  journey  at  Port  Moody, 
for  the  extension  of  the  track  was  not  yet  completed  to 
the  tents  and  fir-stumps  which  littered  the  townsite  of 
Vancouver.  Chinese  coolies  were  clearing  this  area; 
docks  were  being  built  in  accordance  with  the  plans  Van 
Home  had  sketched  out  during  the  previous  year ;  and 
he  made  arrangements  for  the  immediate  construction 
of  a  handsome  hotel. 

In  the  plenary  powers  of  the  company's  charter  Van 
Home  had  alwrays  found  a  source  of  inspiration.  He 
had  persistently  dwelt  on  the  need  of  Pacific  steamships 
for  the  creation  of  through  traffic  and  the  development 
of  the  country  at  large. 

"Canada  is  doing  business  on  a  back  street,"  he  said. 
"We  must  put  her  on  a  thoroughfare." 

He  had  been  impatient  to  see  steamships  owned  by 
the  company  navigating  both  oceans,  but  to  realize  even 
a  part  of  this  dream  an  Imperial  subsidy  was  necessary. 
Carefully  studying  the  sources  and  shipping  of  tea,  silk, 
and  other  Oriental  commodities,  Van  Home  had  pre- 
pared an  official  memorandum  on  trans-Pacific  connec- 
tions which  gave  most  detailed  information  of  eastern 
mail  subsidies  and  trade  possibilities.  He  had  empha- 
sized as  forcibly  as  the  most  ardent  Imperialist  the  mili- 
tary value  of  the  Canadian  route  as  an  alternative  to  the 
Suez  Canal  for  the  transportation  of  troops  to  the  East, 
and  had  already  demonstrated  its  Imperial  value  by 
transporting  heavy  ordnance  to  Hong  Kong.  All  his 


A  Pacific  Steamship  Service  147 

efforts  in  this  direction  would  necessarily  tend  to  divert 
to  Canada  trade  enjoyed  by  the  Pacific  ports  of  the 
United  States,  but  this  in  no  way  concerned  him.  In 
his  official  capacity  Van  Home  was  no  longer  an  Amer- 
ican. He  was  not,  on  the  other  hand,  a  Canadian.  He 
was  simply,  body  and  soul,  a  Canadian  Pacific  man — a 
genius  of  transportation  working  out  his  own  destiny 
in  the  organization  of  land  and  sea  traffic. 

In  May,  1886,  the  company  had  formally  tendered  to 
the  Imperial  government  for  a  fortnightly  mail  service 
across  the  Pacific  at  a  speed  of  fourteen  knots,  the  high- 
est speed  contracted  for  up  to  that  time  on  ocean  voy- 
ages. They  offered  to  build  under  Admiralty  supervi- 
sion first-class  vessels  of  eighteen  knots,  adapted  to  the 
carriage  of  troops  and  to  conversion  into  armed  cruisers. 
Meanwhile,  cargoes  of  silk  and  tea  had  been  secured  in 
the  Orient  for  sailing  vessels  chartered  by  the  company. 
Van  Home  watched  the  first  of  these  as  it  sailed  in  to 
the  docks  at  Port  Moody.  It  was  a  fitting  finale  to  his 
tour  of  inspection,  for  the  ship  slipping  quietly  to  its 
moorings  marked  the  end  of  an  enterprise  which  had 
lured  men  since  the  days  of  Marco  Polo.  What  Cham- 
plain  had  dreamed,  and  Cartier  and  Hudson  braved  so 
much  to  do,  was  now  accomplished.  The  shortest  way 
westward  from  Europe  to  "far  Cathay"  had  been  opened 
up  by  the  son  of  an  Illinois  pioneer  and  his  Scotch- 
Canadian  associates. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

1887-88.      THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CHICAGO,  MIL- 
WAUKEE     &      ST.      PAUL.       CAPITALIZING      SCENERY. 
MOUNTAIN    HOTELS.       FIGHT   WITH    MANITOBA  GOV- 
ERNMENT.     THE   ONDERDONK    SECTION. 

AT  the  beginning  of  1887  Van  Home's  contract 
with  the  company  expired,  and  he  received  from 
Jason  Easton  a  definite  offer  of  the  presidency 
of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul.  Expressing 
the  hope  that  he  was  ready  to  come  back  to  his  old  home, 
Easton  said,  "The  question  of  salary  will  cut  no  figure 
and  will  of  course  be  very  large,  and  you  will  have  all 
freedom  of  action.  ...  If  you  give  me  any  encourage- 
ment and  things  work  out  as  I  now  expect,  I  will  go  to 
New  York  at  once.  ...  I  can't  sleep  nights  until  this 
is  off  my  mind." 

Van  Home  telegraphed  his  refusal  of  the  offer,  and 
Easton  wrote  again,  "Your  telegram  of  this  evening  is 
about  what  I  might  expect.  ...  If  the  St.  Paul  Com- 
pany could  have  secured  you  as  its  head  it  would  have 
had  the  ablest  railroad  general  in  the  world,  all  that 
Grant  was  to  the  U.  S.  A." 

Van  Home's  decision  to  remain  in  Montreal  snapped 
the  last  link  with  his  earlier  career.  He  was  already 
so  completely  identified  in  the  public  mind  with  the 
Canadian  Pacific  as,  in  effect,  to  be  regarded  as  the 
company  itself.  Henceforward  his  lot  was  finally  cast 
in  with  Canada's. 

Although  the  heavy  construction  work  of  the  pre- 
148 


Land  Settlement  in  the  Northwest  149 

ceding  five  years  was  over,  there  was  left  an  aftermath 
of  disputes  and  litigation  with  contractors  on  the  Lake 
Superior  section  and  with  the  government  concerning 
the  condition  of  the  Onderdonk  section.  Throughout 
1887,  and  until  these  differences  were  finally  settled  by 
arbitration,  the  task  of  protecting  the  company  against 
the  exorbitant  claims  of  contractors  and  of  establishing 
its  claim  against  the  government  made  considerable  in- 
roads upon  Van  Home's  time.  His  Montreal  office, 
too,  now  had  all  the  marks  of  a  busy  audience-room. 
Deputations  came  from  every  quarter  of  Canada  to  lay 
the  needs  of  their  localities  before  him,  for  the  Canadian 
Pacific  was  not  only  a  common  carrier,  but  was  also 
Canada's  greatest  commercial  agency.  Demands  for 
branch  lines  and  for  help  for  new  industries  poured  in 
upon  him.  A  caller  was  fortunate  who  did  not  have 
to  spend  two  or  three  days  on  the  doormat  before  secur- 
ing an  interview.  But  the  greater  number  of  visitors 
were  not  in  quest  of  the  company's  assistance.  They 
came  to  him  for  advice  as  a  man  fertile  in  ideas  and 
prompt  and  positive  in  his  judgment;  and  very  many  of 
them  went  away  with  their  schemes  entirely  upset  or 
radically  modified.  But  such  draughts  upon  time  and 
patience  are  a  tax  which  few  heads  of  great  railway 
organizations  can  escape. 

The  strain  of  construction  over,  Van  Home's  mind 
was  freer  to  turn  to  the  settlement  of  the  prairies. 
With  three  hundred  million  acres  of  arable  land,  one- 
third  of  which  was  capable  of  producing  the  highest 
grade  of  wheat ;  with  coal  deposits  which  geologists  were 
beginning  to  estimate  in  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
millions  of  tons ;  and  with  vast  timberlands  to  the  north, 
there  was  a  region  of  such  immense  potentiality  that  its 
free  lands  might  well  have  been  expected  to  summon 


150     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

the  land-hungry  from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  More- 
over, its  promise  had  already  borne  fruit  in  bountiful 
crops  on  the  small  area  under  cultivation  and  in  the 
first  shipment  of  ranch-cattle  to  England.  A  wheat 
surplus  of  ten  million  bushels  in  Manitoba  had  obliged 
the  company  to  establish  a  large  flour-mill  at  Keewatin. 
The  free  homestead  lands  in  the  railway  belt  and  south 
of  it  as  far  west  as  Moosejaw  were  being  rapidly  taken 
up,  and  it  was  the  policy  of  the  company  not  to  press 
the  sale  of  its  own  lands  until  the  free  government  lands 
in  their  vicinity  were  settled,  when  a  better  price  could 
be  obtained  for  them. 

To  promote  the  settlement  of  the  government  lands 
and  hasten  that  of  the  company's,  Van  Home  inaugu- 
rated an  aggressive  and  persistent  campaign  of  adver- 
tising of  a  varied  and  versatile  character,  which  was  to 
be  carried  on  for  many  years.  Special  efforts  were 
made  to  divert  from  the  New  England  states  the  large 
stream  of  emigrants  still  pouring  out  from  the  Maritime 
Provinces  and  Quebec.  Priests  were  appointed  coloniz- 
ing agents  to  induce  the  French-Canadians  in  New  Eng- 
land to  leave  the  factories  for  the  wholesome  outdoor  life 
of  the  West.  The  press,  the  platform,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  letters  from  satisfied  settlers  were  supplemented 
by  the  engagement  of  a  corps  of  the  best  artists  and 
photographers  to  furnish,  by  brush  and  camera,  pic- 
tures of  the  wonderful  scenery  of  mountains,  lakes, 
rivers,  and  forests.  Elaborate  brochures  were  prepared 
describing  the  unsurpassable  attractions  of  the  country 
for  the  hunter  and  the  fisherman.  Artists,  editors,  men 
of  science,  churchmen,  politicians,  and  manufacturers 
were  sent  through  to  the  Pacific,  treated  royally,  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes  to  talk  or  write  or  lecture  on  the 
opportunities  offered  by  the  newly-opened  lands.  From 


Land  Settlement  in  the  Northwest  151 

Europe  were  invited  men  of  wealth  and  station,  friends 
of  Sir  George  Stephen  who  were  already  interested,  or  in 
the  future  would  be  interested,  in  the  welfare  of  the 
company  itself  or  in  the  country  through  which  they 
were  taken. 

It  has  been  aptly  said  that  Van  Home  "capitalized 
the  scenery."  But  sight-seers  could  not  be  attracted  to 
the  mountains  and  rivers  of  British  Columbia  unless 
suitable  accommodation  were  provided  for  them.  The 
company's  charter  permitted  it  to  operate  hotels,  and 
Van  Home  now  began  to  realize  a  long-held  dream  by 
starting  a  system  of  picturesque  hotels  commanding 
the  choicest  views  in  the  Rockies  and  the  Selkirks.  He 
found  recreation  and  delight  in  sketching,  suggesting, 
or  modifying  the  elevations  and  plans  of  these  struc- 
tures. 

But  there  was  one  mishap.  When  a  New  York  archi- 
tect had  amplified  his  sketches  for  an  attractive  hostelry 
at  Banff,  the  builder  turned  the  hotel  the  wrong  side 
about,  giving  the  kitchen  the  finest  outlook.  One  day 
Van  Home  arrived  and  saw  the  blunder.  His  wrath 
amply  illustrated  the  description  of  a  colleague:  "Van 
Home  was  one  of  the  most  considerate  and  even-tem- 
pered of  men,  but  when  an  explosion  came  it  was  mag- 
nificent." However,  by  the  time  the  cyclone  had  spent 
itself  a  remedy  was  forthcoming.  He  sketched  a  ro- 
tunda pavilion  on  the  spot,  and  ordered  it  to  be  erected 
so  as  to  secure  the  coveted  view  for  the  guests. 

A  station  was  required  at  Banff  to  replace  the  prim- 
itive box-car  that  had  hitherto  done  service.  The  build- 
ers were  at  a  loss  for  a  design.  Discussing  the  problem 
with  his  officials  on  the  spot,  Van  Home  seized  a  piece 
of  brown  paper,  sketched  a  log  chalet,  and,  pointing  to 
the  wooded  mountain  slopes,  said  simply,  "Lots  of  good 


152     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

logs  there.  Cut  them,  peel  them,  and  build  your  sta- 
tion." This  was  the  genesis  of  the  artistic  log-stations 
in  the  Rockies.  For  Sicamous  was  designed  a  station 
that  rose  up  from  the  lake  like  a  trim,  compact  ship. 

Van  Home  also  found  scope  for  his  fondness  for 
architectural  design  in  the  East,  notably  in  the  new 
headquarters  of  the  company  on  Windsor  Street,  Mon- 
treal, where  a  massive  structure  was  erected,  impressive 
as  a  Norman  fortress  and  typifying  by  its  solidity  the 
character  of  the  corporation  it  housed.  Nor  did  Bruce 
Price's  later  designs  for  the  Chateau  Frontenac  at  Que- 
bec and  the  Place  Viger  Hotel  at  Montreal  escape  rad- 
ical modification  by  his  pencil. 

He  was  not  invariably  happy  in  his  own  ideas  and 
suggestions  or  in  his  approval  of  the  plans  of  others. 
But  he  had  a  cultivated  artistic  taste,  a  well-developed 
sense  of  fitness,  and  a  remarkable  grasp  of  requirements ; 
and  his  directions  were  always  given  with  an  assurance 
that  was  difficult  to  gainsay. 

The  winter  of  1887-88  saw  the  culmination  of  a  long 
and  bitter  contest  which,  arising  out  of  the  monopoly 
clause  in  the  company's  charter,  threatened  at  one  time 
to  rupture  the  federation  of  the  Canadian  provinces. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  charter  provided  that  for 
twenty  years  the  Dominion  government  should  not  au- 
thorize construction  of  any  line  of  railway  running  south 
from  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  to  any  point 
within  fifteen  miles  of  the  international  boundary.  The 
object  and  spirit  of  this  provision  was,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  temporary  protection  of  the  interests  of  the  Domin- 
ion in  the  Northwest,  and  on  the  other  the  protection 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  during  its  infancy  from  invasion 
by  lines  from  the  south.  The  necessity  for  such  pro- 
tection was  obvious,  for  if  once  connection  were  per- 


Manitoba  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway     153 

mitted  at  the  southern  boundary  of  Manitoba  with 
American  railroad  systems,  there  was  practically  no 
limit  to  the  encroachments  that  might  ensue;  and  rail- 
way lines  were  already  pushing  northward  from  Chicago 
and  St.  Paul  to  the  border,  threatening  to  tap  the  prairie 
section  of  the  Canadian  Northwest  and  to  deprive  the 
eastern  section  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  of  the  traffic 
necessary  to  its  support  and  efficiency  as  part  of  the 
through  line.  The  company,  therefore,  had  deemed  it 
essential  to  the  procuring  and  safety  of  capital  and,  in 
general,  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise  that  the  traffic 
of  the  territory  to  be  developed  by  the  railway  should 
be  secured  to  it  for  a  reasonable  period.  Without  this 
provision  the  necessary  capital  could  not  have  been 
secured  and  the  railway  could  not  have  been  built. 

The  political  desirability  of  this  protection  was  equally 
obvious,  for  the  heavy  burden  of  taxation  put  upon  the 
older  provinces  for  the  building  of  the  railway  could 
only  be  justified  by  the  binding  together  of  the  detached 
provinces  and  the  extension  it  afforded  them  of  their 
trade  and  manufactures  over  the  entire  northern  half 
of  the  continent. 

Winnipeg  at  the  time  was  a  mere  village,  and  the 
settlements  in  Manitoba  were  mainly  confined  to  a  nar- 
row fringe  along  the  Red  River.  The  province  hailed 
the  signing  of  the  contract,  and  hardly  a  voice  was 
raised  in  objection  to  the  so-called  "Monopoly  Clause." 

Feeling,  however,  that  the  clause  placed  upon  it  a 
moral  obligation  to  provide  railway  facilities  as  rapidly 
as  possible  in  southern  Manitoba,  the  company,  almost 
simultaneously  with  the  commencement  of  work  on  its 
main  line,  had  laid  out  and  begun  work  on  a  system 
of  four  hundred  and  thirty-three  miles  of  branch  lines 
extending  south  and  southwest  from  Winnipeg.  It 


154     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

had  gone  further.  For  the  purpose  of  promoting  the 
development  of  the  country,  it  had  made  its  rates  for 
freight  and  passengers  on  a  scale  far  below  the 
rates  of  any  of  the  railways  in  the  United  States 
similarly  situated;  and  an  enormous  reduction  in  the 
rates  theretofore  paid  by  the  people  of  the  province 
to  and  from  the  East  over  American  lines  had  fol- 
lowed the  opening  of  the  line  between  Lake  Superior 
and  Winnipeg.  Yet  no  sooner  had  operation  of  the 
line  started  than  complaints  arose  that  the  rates  on 
outgoing  wheat  were  excessive  and  that  the  monopoly 
clause  deterred  immigrants  from  settling  in  Manitoba. 
Development  of  the  prairie  section  west  of  Winnipeg 
had  been  rapid.  Winnipeg  was  growing  into  an  im- 
portant city  and,  with  other  rising  towns,  was  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  a  "land  boom" ;  and  the  natural  and 
inevitable  consequences  of  over-speculation  were  mis- 
taken for  the  need  of  railway  competition.  This  idea 
was  fostered  by  individuals  having  selfish  ends  to  serve; 
by  towns  seeking  advantages  over  others  in  trade;  by 
local  politicians  striving  for  popularity;  and  by  poli- 
ticians at  large  for  party  ends.  The  usual  means  were 
employed  to  create  and  keep  up  a  ferment — sensational 
articles  in  the  local  press,  unfair  and  false  comparisons 
of  rates,  and  inflammatory  speeches  and  appeals  to  prej- 
udice. The  Manitoba  government  declared  its  intention 
to  construct  a  line  by  way  of  the  Red  River  Valley  to  the 
international  boundary,  there  to  connect  with  a  line 
advancing  northward  from  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
way and  supposed  to  be  building  under  the  auspices  of 
that  company.  In  May,  1887,  Stephen  telegraphed 
Norquay,  the  provincial  Premier,  protesting  against  the 
proposal  as  a  breach  of  faith  toward  the  holders  of  the 
$134,000,000  private  capital  invested  in  the  Canadian 


^Manitoba  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway      155 

Pacific,  and  threatening  that  if  the  mischievous  agitation 
continued  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  were  treated  as  the 
public  enemy  of  the  people  of  Winnipeg,  the  company 
would  at  once  remove  its  principal  western  shops  from 
that  city  to  Fort  William. 

In  June  the  Provincial  government  enacted  legisla- 
tion authorizing  the  construction  of  a  road  to  the  boun- 
dary. The  Dominion  government,  exercising  its  power 
of  veto,  promptly  disallowed  the  legislation  as  being 
ultra  znres  of  the  province.  A  second  measure  shared 
the  same  fate,  and  Manitoba  became  thoroughly  aroused 
and  indignant.  A  company  chartered  by  the  Provincial 
government,  notwithstanding  the  veto  of  the  Dominion, 
proceeded  with  the  construction  of  its  road,  and  a  tem- 
porary injunction  was  obtained  in  the  Manitoba  courts 
by  the  Minister  of  Justice  of  the  Dominion  to  restrain 
the  builders  and  the  Provincial  government  from  pro- 
ceeding with  their  illegal  operations.  While  the  in- 
junction was  pending  the  Canadian  Pacific  at  dead  of 
night  built  a  spur-line  about  two  hundred  yards  long 
across  the  path  of  the  new  railway,  and  an  interlocutory 
injunction  wras  then  obtained  restraining  the  rival  road 
from  crossing  the  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

This  clever  but  useless  bit  of  tactics  served  only  to 
heighten  the  passions  of  the  people  of  Manitoba.  Nor- 
quay  insisted  that  the  road  would  be  built  "at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet  if  necessary,"  and  men  talked  of  a  third 
Northwest  rebellion. 

In  November  the  court  granted  a  permanent  injunc- 
tion, but  by  that  time  construction  of  the  Red  River 
Railway  had  stopped  for  lack  of  money  and  Norquay's 
government  had  dissolved. 

Entrenched  in  statutes  and  court  decisions,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Canadian  Pacific  now  seemed  impregnable. 


156    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

But  "the  sovereign  will  of  the  people"  had  been  aroused. 
They  echoed  the  fallen  Premier's  talk  of  bayonets  and 
applauded  the  local  press,  which,  as  one  of  its  milder 
forms  of  abuse,  dubbed  Van  Home  "the  Great  Mogul  of 
Monopoly."  The  latter,  however,  giving  evidence  be- 
fore the  Railway  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  at 
Ottawa  in  December,  declared,  on  the  contrary,  his  be- 
lief that  railways  should  enjoy  perfect  freedom  in  con- 
struction; that  the  protection  of  existing  lines  was  a 
fallacy;  but  that  the  course  taken  by  his  company  in 
Manitoba  was  absolutely  necessary  for  national  reasons, 
namely,  for  the  preservation  to  Canada  of  the  trade  and 
traffic  arising  within  its  boundaries. 

The  ferment  created  by  the  speculators  and  politicians 
in  Manitoba,  however,  reacted  upon  the  Dominion  gov- 
ernment. Greenway  and  Martin,  the  aggressive  young 
leaders  of  the  new  Manitoba  government,  stormed 
Ottawa  with  a  new  weapon  against  disallowance.  The 
question  of  Provincial  Rights,  framed  by  them  and  des- 
tined to  survive  for  many  years  as  a  political  battle-cry, 
was  now  first  projected  into  Canadian  politics. 

The  question  was  one  so  charged  with  political  trou- 
ble, and  Manitoba  was  so  urgent  in  its  agitation,  that 
Sir  John  Macdonald  finally  promised  Greenway  that 
there  should  be  no  further  disallowance  of  Manitoba's 
railway  legislation,  and  early  in  1888  he  secured  from 
the  Canadian  Pacific  the  relinquishment  of  its  monopoly 
privilege  in  consideration  of  certain  financial  guaran- 
ties. The  sequel  furnishes  another  example  of  Van 
Home's  love  of  battle  and  his  unwillingness  to  accept 
defeat  until  he  was  counted  out. 

Martin,  "the  stormy  petrel  of  Canadian  politics/'  be- 
came Railway  Commissioner  for  Manitoba  and  at  once 
proceeded  with  an  extension  to  Winnipeg  of  a  line  from 


Manitoba  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway     157 

Portage  la  Prairie,  intending  eventually  to  connect  it 
with  the  Northern  Pacific.  His  plans,  however,  necessi- 
tated a  crossing  of  the  Canadian  Pacific's  branch  line 
to  Pembina,  and  the  permission  of  the  Railway  Commit- 
tee of  the  Privy  Council  at  Ottawa  was  necessary  to 
cross  a  Dominion  railway.  Permission  was  slow  in  com- 
ing, and  the  Canadian  Pacific  announced  its  determina- 
tion to  resist  any  crossing  until  permission  was  granted. 

Meanwhile,  the  new  grade  was  being  built  up  close 
to  both  sides  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  track  and  track- 
laying  was  in  progress.  The  provincial  builders,  de- 
claring that  the  company  was  exerting  unfair  influence 
to  delay  the  Railway  Committee's  permission,  decided 
to  anticipate  that  formality  by  starting  a  crossing  over 
the  company's  line,  in  the  same  fashion  as  the  Canadian 
Pacific  had  stolen  across  the  Red  River  road  in  the  pre- 
ceding year. 

Such  a  decision  took  matters  out  of  the  abstruse  realm 
of  parliaments  and  politics  into  a  field  in  which  Van 
Home  was  master.  He  sent  instructions  to  William 
Whyte,  the  general  superintendent  at  Winnipeg,  and 
felt  confident  of  the  outcome.  Word  reached  Whyte 
that  a  crossing  was  about  to  be  attempted.  Within  an 
hour  an  old  C.  P.  R.  engine  was  ditched  at  the  point  of 
crossing,  and  he  wras  on  the  spot  with  a  force  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men  from  the  company's  shops  to  pre- 
vent its  removal.  In  his  private  car,  drawn  up  at  the 
crossing,  were  a  number  of  special  constables  and  two 
magistrates.  Workmen  of  the  provincial  line  came  up 
to  study  the  situation.  At  first  they  fraternized  with 
the  company's  men.  Cabinet  officials,  policemen,  and 
citizens  from  Winnipeg  rushed  to  the  scene.  The  chief 
of  the  provincial  police  informed  Whyte  that  the  ap- 
pointments of  his  special  constables  had  been  cancelled. 


158     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

The  justices  of  the  peace  in  Whyte's  car  as  promptly 
swore  them  into  office  again.  As  the  day  wore  on  more 
men  were  brought  to  the  crossing  by  both  sides.  Whyte 
had  his  men  attach  a  hose  to  a  locomotive  and  threatened 
to  throw  live  steam  upon  the  opposing  forces  if  they 
attacked. 

Winnipeg  flamed  with  excitement,  and  Van  Home, 
who  at  long  distance  from  his  office  in  Montreal  was 
playing  as  merry  a  game  of  bluff  as  he  had  ever  known, 
was  violently  attacked  by  the  press.  "The  vigour  and 
point  of  the  expressions  about  him  would  probably  make 
even  the  imperturbable  Van  Home  wince  could  he  hear 
them."  A  St.  Paul  paper,  speaking  out  of  the  fulness 
of  experience,  urged  its  Manitoba  neighbors  to  cool 
down,  for  the  situation  was  one  of  "ineffable  absurdity.'5 
So  indeed  it  was. 

Manitoba's  Railway  Commissioner,  however,  thought 
otherwise.  On  the  fifth  day  he  had  a  hundred  and 
thirty  men  sworn  as  special  constables  and  called  out 
the  local  troops  under  Colonel  Villiers.  These  peace- 
ably pitched  their  tents  within  view  of  "Fort  Whyte," 
where  the  general  superintendent  and  his  forces  con- 
tinued to  hold  their  ground.  At  another  point,  where 
their  rivals  threatened  to  lay  a  diamond  crossing, 
Whyte's  men  built  a  fence  about  the  railway,  and  lay 
inactive  and  alert  behind  the  barricade.  Some  farmers 
came  up  to  them  with  staves  as  weapons,  talked 
ominously  of  lynching,  but  retired  without  a  clash. 
Whyte  asserted  stoutly  that  he  and  his  men  would  stay 
on  the  ground  and  the  dead  engine  would  lie  on  the 
crossing  as  long  as  the  other  railway  persisted  in  its 
intention  to  cross. 

"We  are  here/'  he  said,  "to  protect  the  company's  in- 
terests, and  if  necessary  we  will  tie  up  the  whole  western 


Manitoba  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway      159 

system  and  bring  in  every  man  to  hold  the  Tort.' ' 

Extravagant  reports  of  the  incident  were  sent  to  east- 
ern Canada  and  England.  Attempts  were  made  by  the 
Northern  Pacific's  friends  in  Manitoba  to  effect  a  cross- 
ing at  three  different  points,  but  everywhere  they  were 
foiled  by  Whyte's  vigilance.  The  contest  lasted  for  a 
fortnight. 

In  the  meantime,  while  awaiting  the  decision  of  the 
Railway  Committee,  the  company  had  sought  to  obtain 
an  injunction  from  the  courts  restraining  the  provincial 
road  from  trespass.  The  courts  now  refused  to  grant 
an  injunction*  and  the  company  was  obliged  to  submit  to 
the  crossing. 

The  competitive  line  was  completed,  but  in  a  short 
time  the  local  press  was  attacking  the  Northern  Pacific 
for  its  high  traffic  rates  as  violently  as  it  had  attacked 
the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  was  even  accusing  it  of  collu- 
sion with  the  latter. 

Hardly  was  the  fight  with  Manitoba  concluded  when 
Van  Home  was  obliged  to  proceed  to  the  Pacific  coast  to 
give  evidence  in  the  arbitration  with  the  government 
concerning  the  Onderdonk  section  between  Port  Moody 
and  Savona's  Ferry.  In  1881  the  government  had  un- 
dertaken to  construct  this  section  on  a  standard  equal  to 
that  of  the  Union  Pacific  and  to  hand  it  over  to  the  com- 
pany in  as  good  condition  as  that  of  the  remainder  of 
the  main  line.  But  owing  to  the  unexpected  cost  of 
construction,  the  government  had  taken  alarm  and  had 
lowered  the  specifications,  with  the  result  that  the  sec- 
tion was  in  an  unsatisfactory  condition  when  it  was 
transferred  to  the  company,  which  had  been  put  to 
great  expense  to  remedy  these  defects.  The  company 
was  now  claiming  to  be  reimbursed  for  its  expenditure 
and  seeking  an  arrangement  whereby  the  whole  section 


160    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

would  be  brought  up  to  the  requisite  standard  without 
further  expense  to  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

The  train  to  which  Van  Home's  car  was  attached  car- 
ried the  arbitrators,  Chancellor  Boyd,  the  chairman, 
Thomas  C.  Keef er,  a  distinguished  engineer,  and  George 
Tate  Blackstock  and  Walter  Cassels  of  the  Ontario  Bar, 
as  well  as  counsel  and  witnesses  for  the  contending  par- 
ties. All  these  were  especially  interested  in  viewing  the 
mountain  section  built  by  the  company,  for  the  govern- 
ment was  contending  that  the  Onderdonk  section  was 
in  no  whit  inferior,  and  its  counsel  and  engineers  were 
endeavouring  to  fortify  their  case  by  instituting  a  com- 
parison with  the  "dangerous  grades  and  unprecedented 
curves"  in  the  mountains,  particularly  condemning  the 
Big  Hill,  a  four  per  cent,  gradient  down  the  Kicking 
Horse  Canyon  between  Hector  and  Field.  Van  Home, 
aware  that  trains  were  accustomed  to  run  slowly  over 
this  stretch  of  road,  sent  word  at  Canmore  to  the  locomo- 
tive engineer  to  take  the  train  over  the  Rockies  at  a 
good  speed. 

"We  will  show  these  fellows,"  he  said,  "that  our  road 
is  fit  to  run  on,  though  the  Onderdonk  is  not." 

The  engine-driver  obediently  made  the  trip  of  forty- 
nine  miles  to  Laggan  in  an  hour.  Then,  moving  more 
slowly  over  the  summit,  he  slipped  down  the  Big  Hill 
at  the  rate  of  eighteen  miles  an  hour.  The  trip  was 
made  with  such  speed  and  ease  that  the  commissioners 
and  party  could  hardly  credit  the  statement  that  they 
were  already  down  the  Big  Hill. 

When  the  train  stopped  for  water  at  Field,  Van  Home 
sauntered  down  the  platform  and  asked  the  engineer  if 
he  did  not  think  it  safe  to  run  faster.  Charles  Carey 
was  a  fearless  driver  and  a  favourite  with  Van  Home 
because  of  his  skill  and  daring. 


A  Merry  Ride  in  the  Mountains  161 

"I  '11  go  just  as  fast  as  you  want,"  he  replied. 

"Then  give  these  fellows  a  merry  ride,  just  to  let  them 
know  they  are  on  a  railroad.  Run  her  as  fast  as  you 
like,  provided  you  don't  ditch  them." 

Carey  knew  what  was  wanted.  He  increased  the 
speed,  letting  the  engine  hum  over  the  steel  at  a  pace 
that  delighted  Van  Home.  The  cars  rocked;  the  arm- 
chairs and  loose  furniture  of  the  private  car  piled  to- 
gether like  a  ship's  furniture  in  a  hurricane.  Men  held 
to  their  seats  with  difficulty,  and  in  one  of  the  lighter 
cars  not  all  were  successful  in  doing  that.  "Adiron- 
dack" Murray's  dinner  was  spilled  over  him.  The  train 
raced  through  the  lower  canyon  of  the  Kicking  Horse. 
What  recked  the  dizzy  passengers  that  they  were  trav- 
ersing a  most  interesting  section  of  rockwork  or,  emerg- 
ing from  the  canyon's  gloom  to  the  luminous  valley  of 
the  Columbia,  could  see  the  radiant  peaks  of  Sir  Donald 
and  Mount  Stephen?  In  the  stretch  of  fifty-one  miles  to 
Golden,  made  in  an  hour,  the  engine  never  stopped  or 
slackened  speed.  As  a  breath-taking  climax,  the  seven- 
teen miles  between  Golden  and  Sir  Donald  were  made  in 
fifteen  minutes;  and  when  Carey's  engine  was  stopped 
just  beyond  Sir  Donald,  Jimmy  French,  Van  Home's  col- 
oured porter,  ran  up  to  him. 

"You  tryin'  to  kill  us  ?"  he  cried.  "All  dose  genmuns 
back  theah  are  under  the  seats.  Only  the  boss  left,"  he 
added  proudly,  "sittin'  up  in  his  chair  with  his  pipe." 

Having  been  taught  their  lesson  of  respect  for  the 
safety  of  the  Canadian  Pacific's  track  and  equipment 
and  the  skill  of  its  engineers,  the  party  was  given  a  rest, 
and  the  train  gently  looped  the  loops  over  the  trestles  of 
the  Illecillewaet,  winding  screw-wise  down  the  canyon's 
sides  and  making  two  and  a  half  miles  of  progress  in 
six  miles  of  travel. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

1888-90.      APPOINTED    PRESIDENT.      T.    G.    SHAUGH- 

NESSY.       GEORGE     M.     CLARK.      THE    GRAND    TRUNK. 

U.  S.  BONDING  PRIVILEGES.      THE  "SOO"  AND  SOUTH 

SHORE    LINES.       PRAIRIE   SETTLEMENTS. 

ON  his  return  in  August,  1888,  from  the  Pacific 
coast,  Van  Home  found  himself  the  duly 
elected  president  of  the  company  in  place  of 
Stephen.  The  latter  retained  a  seat  on  the  directo- 
rate and  intended  to  devote  himself  to  the  financial 
interests  of  the  company  in  England,  where  he  pro- 
posed to  take  up  his  permanent  residence.  The  change 
was  not  unexpected.  To  a  man  of  Stephen's  wealth 
and  dignity  of  rank  and  position  the  well-ordered 
beauty  of  England's  countryside  and  the  pleasantness  of 
her  social  life  were  well-nigh  irresistible.  He  cherished, 
moreover,  a  deep  resentment  against  Sir  John  Macdon- 
ald  for  the  sufferings  and  mortification  he  had  expe- 
rienced at  Ottawa,  and,  having  reluctantly  entered  upon 
the  Canadian  Pacific  enterprise  and  made  great  sacrifices 
to  patriotism,  he  was  indignant  at  the  unworthy  motives 
constantly  attributed  to  him  by  a  section  of  the  Canadian 
press.  He  was  now  intensely  chagrined  and  disgusted 
by  Sir  John's  refusal,  owing  to  political  exigencies,  to 
redeem  his  promise  to  give  the  company  running  rights 
over  the  Intercolonial  from  Moncton  to  St.  John  and 
Halifax;  and  he  had  made  known  to  his  friends  his 
determination  to  shake  the  dust  of  Canada  from  his  feet. 

The  moment  was  well  chosen.     The  Canadian  Pacific 

162 


The  Presidency  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Ry.     163 

was  firmly  established.  Despite  an  exceedingly  light 
crop  in  Ontario  and  a  steady  diminution  in  the  rates  for 
passengers  and  freight,  the  company  was  prospering. 
Numerous  branches  were  in  course  of  construction  be- 
tween Quebec  and  the  Pacific,  and  the  connections  neces- 
sary to  full  completion  of  the  system  were  now  few  in 
number. 

Van  Home's  promotion  to  the  presidency  of  the  com- 
pany could  not  materially  affect  or  increase  his  respon- 
sibilities. He  had  already  had  full  control  of  opera- 
tions. Yet  it  could  not  fail  to  be  a  proud  moment  in 
his  life  when,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty- 
five,  he  became  the  titular  and  acknowledged  head  of  a 
system  embracing  over  five  thousand  miles  of  railway, 
stretching  vigorous  fingers  out  to  all  points  of  the  com- 
pass, owning  fourteen  million  acres  of  land,  and  possess- 
ing assets  of  $180,000,000.  In  the  magnitude  of  its 
business  it  would  not  bear  comparison  with  the  great 
systems  entering  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Chicago, 
but  it  had,  for  him,  the  inestimable  advantage  over  all 
of  them  in  the  promise  of  a  future  to  which  there  were 
no  apparent  limits.  He  now  held,  too,  the  unchallenged 
primacy  in  Canadian  railway  affairs,  and  since  the  fur- 
ther development  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  offered  the 
greatest  inducements  to  his  creative  impulses,  he  could 
rightly  feel  that  there  was  no  position  in  the  railway 
world  so  enviable  as  his  own. 

His  work  as  a  railway-builder  had  been  phenomenal, 
but  before  coming  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  he  had  had 
small  experience  of  large  business  or  financial  affairs. 
He  was  fortunate,  therefore,  in  having  an  able  and 
zealous  body  of  assistants  and  a  prudent  and  sagacious 
financial  adviser  in  R.  B.  Angus.  At  the  beginning,  the 
official  personnel  had,  of  necessity,  been  recruited  from 


164     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

the  officers  of  other  American  and  Canadian  railways, 
but  he  had  adopted  the  policy  of  promotion  from  the 
ranks;  and  the  wisdom  of  such  a  course  was  already 
apparent  in  the  remarkable  esprit  de  corps  which  pre- 
vailed among  employees  of  all  grades. 

Upon  Shaughnessy,  who  had  become  assistant  gen- 
eral-manager in  1885,  Van  Home  had  thrown  increas- 
ing responsibility;  and  Shaughnessy  was  well  able  to 
bear  it,  for  he  was  endowed  with  all  the  qualities  that 
go  to  make  administrative  capacity  of  the  highest  order. 
Van  Home's  talents  shone  in  other  directions,  and  from 
the  first  he  leaned  heavily  on  Shaughnessy's  strong  busi- 
ness sense  and  acumen.  Traffic  was  in  the  hands  of 
George  Olds  and  David  McNicoll.  I.  G.  Ogden,  a 
genius  in  accountancy,  filled  the  office  of  comptroller. 
The  operation  of  trains  and  local  interests  were  in  the 
safe  hands  of  such  men  as  William  Whyte,  T.  A.  Mack- 
innon,  and  Harry  Abbott. 

In  George  Mackenzie  Clark,  the  chief  solicitor,  he 
had  an  able  and  shrewd  adviser,  and  the  best  railway 
lawyer  and  one  of  the  best  poker-players  of  his  time  in 
Canada.  Clark,  who  had  a  unique  record  of  service  as 
a  county  judge  in  Ontario  for  a  period  of  over  thirty 
years,  was  persona  grata  to  Sir  John  Macdonald  and 
the  Conservatives,  and  a  man  of  high  personal  char- 
acter. His  unbending  integrity,  happily  shared  by  many 
of  his  profession,  was  once  tested  by  no  less  a  combina- 
tion of  forces  than  Van  Home  and  J.  J.  Hill.  These 
inveterate  enemies  chanced  to  find  a  mutual  interest  in 
effecting  some  railway  deal.  Van  Home  consulted 
Clark  about  it,  and  was  told  that  the  transaction  was 
statutorily  forbidden  and  therefore  could  not  be  carried 
out.  On  the  following  day  he  entered  Clark's  office 
accompanied  by  Hill,  and  the  two  put  forward  all  the 


The  Hostility  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Ry.  Co.     165 

arguments  they  could  to  bring  about  a  change  of  mind. 

"I  have  told  you,"  said  Clark  in  a  tone  of  finality, 
"that  what  you  propose  is  illegal.  It  therefore  should 
not  be  done,  and  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"Well,  Judge  Clark,"  said  Hill,  "you  are  not  at  all 

like  my  counsel,  Mr.  .  He  lies  down  on  his  sofa 

most  of  the  day,  and  when  I  go  into  his  room  and  say, 

'Look  here,  Mr. ,  I  want  to  do  so  and  so.  What 

about  it?',  he  looks  up  and  says,  'Well,  Mr.  Hill,  of 
course  it 's  illegal,  but  you  go  ahead,  and  I  '11  get  you 
out  of  trouble.'  " 

Van  Home's  promotion  was  greeted  with  renewed 
attacks  from  London  of  a  most  impertinent  and  un- 
scrupulous character  both  upon  the  road  and  upon  the 
new  president's  personality.  Describing  him  as  "a  for- 
eigner and  an  alien,"  and  alleging  that  "the  road,  though 
built  with  Canadian  money,  is  intended  for  foreigners, 
and  no  doubt  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  foreigners 
will  own  and  control  it  for  the  purpose  of  making  money 
out  of  it,"  Sir  Henry  Tyler,  president  of  the  Grand 
Trunk,  and  his  supporters  urged  that  the  government 
should  take  over  the  road  and  divide  the  profits  with 
the  company.  Jealous  of  the  Canadian  Pacific's  devel- 
opment in  what  they  regarded  as  their  own  territory  and 
incensed  at  its  projected  connection  with  the  "Soo" 
and  Duluth  lines,  these  ill-informed  and  ill-advised  men 
now  entered  upon  what  was  to  prove  a  last  desperate 
campaign  of  the  long  war  they  had  waged  upon  the 
intruder  and  strove  by  means  of  a  flood  of  false  and 
damaging  statements  to  discredit  the  company.  Their 
immediate  object  was  to  prevent  the  company  from  ob- 
taining the  capital  necessary  to  complete  its  line  from 
London  to  Detroit,  the  construction  of  which  had  been 
forced  upon  the  company  by  the  failure  of  its  earnest 


1 66     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

efforts  to  lease  one  of  the  Grand  Trunk's  spare  lines. 
Their  tactics  frightened  many  of  the  holders  of  Cana- 
dian Pacific  shares  and  bonds  into  selling  out  at  prices 
far  below  the  value  of  the  securities,  but  the  company 
secured  the  desired  capital  on  more  favourable  terms 
than  ever  before  in  its  history. 

Breaking  the  silence  which,  in  public,  he  had  hitherto 
maintained  against  the  attacks  of  these  adversaries, 
Van  Home  seized  the  opportunity  afforded  by  an  annual 
meeting  of  the  company's  shareholders  to  administer 
a  temperate  but  stinging  rebuke.  In  the  course  of  his 
remarks  he  said : 

I  wish,  in  the  first  place,  to  express  the  hope  that  unfriendly 
remarks  or  impertinent  comments  upon  the  affairs  of  our  neigh- 
bours will  never  characterize  the  meetings  of  the  shareholders  of 
this  company.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  prefer  not  to  refer  to 
their  affairs  at  all;  but  lest  continued  silence  should  be  miscon- 
strued, I  feel  that  I  should,  on  this  occasion,  say  a  few  words 
about  the  attitude  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Company,  as  indicated  by 
its  acts  in  Canada  and  by  the  utterances  of  its  president  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  as  to  the  latter,  especially,  I  feel  that  I  am  more  than 
justified  in  what  I  have  to  say  by  the  increasing  freedom  of  his 
remarks  concerning  this  company,  with  which  his  shareholders 
are  entertained  at  their  half-yearly  meetings,  and  which  clearly 
indicate  that  he  lacks  that  first  requisite  of  good  neighbourhood, 
the  faculty  of  minding  his  own  business. 

We  have,  as  you  know,  scrupulously  refrained  from  interfer- 
ence with  any  of  the  projects  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Company,  or 
with  its  legislation  or  financial  operations;  and  in  our  every-day 
relations  we  have  as  scrupulously  avoided  rate-cutting  and  unfair 
competition  in  any  form.  But  almost  every  project  and  measure 
of  your  company,  from  the  time  of  its  organization  up  to  this 
day,  has  met  with  the  active  hostility  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Com- 
pany at  every  turn — in  the  Dominion  and  Provincial  Parliaments, 
in  the  money  markets  and  in  the  public  press.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  go  beyond  the  reports  of  the  half-yearly  meetings  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Company  for  proof  of  this.  At  these  meetings 


A  Rebuke  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Co.      167 

the  most  mendacious  and  absurd  statements  concerning  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  seem  to  be  received  without  question,  and 
insinuations  against  the  credit  of  your  company  are  greeted  with 
cheers.  At  the  last  meeting  their  president  boasted  of  the  suc- 
cessful interference  of  their  officers  in  Canada  with  some  of  our 
recent  legislation — unwarranted  interference  with  legislation  re- 
lating to  our  internal  affairs  and  in  no  way  concerning  the  Grand 
Trunk;  and  on  the  same  occasion  he  indulged  again  in  his  often 
repeated  hints  about  impending  disaster  to  your  company.  Our 
offence  is  that  in  the  necessary  development  of  our  railway  sys- 
tem— in  securing  that  independence  which  you  know  to  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  we  have  come 
into  competition  with  the  Grand  Trunk  in  certain  districts,  and 
that  we  have  been  obliged  to  go  and  get  what  the  Grand  Trunk 
would  not  bring  to  us.  But  when  your  representatives  signed 
the  contract  with  the  Dominion  Government  for  the  construction 
and  future  working  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  they  bound 
you,  without  knowing  it,  perhaps,  to  an  unwritten  obligation,  but 
one  from  which  there  was  no  escape,  to  do  practically  all  that 
has  been  done  since,  and  to  do  some  things  which  have  yet  to  be 
done.  The  interests  of  the  Grand  Trunk  were  already  firmly 
established  in  the  direction  of  Chicago,  and  they  could  not  be  re- 
versed and  made  to  fit  in  with  yours.  What  is  not  to  their  inter- 
est the  Grand  Trunk  people  will  not  do,  if  they  know  it.  They 
saw,  perhaps  as  soon  as  any,  what  the  building  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  implied,  and  they  fought  against  it  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  with  a  Bourbon-like  disregard  for  the  logic  of 
events,  they  are  fighting  against  it  yet.  They  say  a  great  deal 
about  the  aggressiveness  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  about  its  exten- 
sions and  acquisitions  in  Ontario,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  since 
the  Canadian  Pacific  came  into  existence  the  Grand  Trunk  has 
absorbed  in  that  province  more  than  two  miles  of  railway  for 
every  one  made  or  acquired  by  the  Canadian  Pacific,  aside  from 
its  main  line.  They  would  have  it  believed  that  the  Great  West- 
ern, the  Midland,  the  North  Shore,  the  Grand  Junction  and  other 
railways  were  acquired  in  frantic  haste  and  without  higgling  about 
prices  because  they  would  be  profitable  to  their  shareholders, 
and  not  for  the  purpose  of  depriving  the  Canadian  Pacific  of 
connections.  They  would  have  it  believed  that  the  Northern  and 
Northwestern  Railways  were  acquired  for  the  same  reason,  and 


1 68     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

with  the  friendly  desire,  at  the  same  time,  to  secure  a  connec- 
tion with  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting the  Canadian  Pacific  from  reaching  Ontario  from  the 
Northwest  to  advantage. 

They  also  say  a  great  deal  about  the  assistance  the  Canadian 
Pacific  has  received  in  the  way  of  subsidies,  forgetting  that  the 
Grand  Trunk  and  the  lines  amalgamated  with  or  held  by  it  have 
received  many  times  the  amount  of  subsidies  in  Ontario  and  Que- 
bec that  the  Canadian  Pacific  has  received  for  its  lines  in  these 
provinces;  and  they  forget  to  say  that  the  Ontario  and  Quebec 
railway,  between  Montreal  and  Toronto,  about  which  so  much 
complaint  has  been  made,  was  built  without  any  subsidies  what- 
ever. 

Every  line  made  or  acquired  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  On- 
tario was  made  or  acquired  with  special  reference  to  its  necessity 
to  the  general  system  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Company — and  in 
no  case  because  of  mere  profit  in  itself,  but  in  no  case,  either, 
without  the  certainty  that  it  would  be  profitable.  Whether  or 
not  the  extensive  acquisitions  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Company  in 
Ontario  bring  profit  or  loss  to  that  Company  does  not  concern  us 
any  more  than  does  the  fate  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  shareholders 
concern  the  president  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  according  to  his  latest 
half-yearly  speech. 

I  should  feel  proud  of  the  entire  responsibility  for  the  present 
geography  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway  system  if  it  all  rested 
upon  me,  for  I  believe  that  no  mistakes  of  any  consequence  have 
been  made,  and  that  the  results  have  more  than  proved  the  wis- 
dom of  all  that  has  been  done;  and  I  am  confident  that,  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  reasons  which  have  actuated  your  directors 
and  with  the  results  before  you,  there  is  little  that  you  would 
wish  undone,  or  that  you  could  afford  to  have  undone. 

Had  you  stopped  at  the  completion  of  your  main  line  across 
the  continent,  your  enterprise  would  have  come  to  ruin  long  ago, 
or,  at  best,  it  would  have  existed  only  as  a  sickly  appendage  of 
the  Grand  Trunk.  Like  a  body  without  arms,  it  would  have 
been  dependent  upon  charity — upon  the  charity  of  a  neighbour 
whose  interest  would  be  to  starve  it.  But  to-day  you  have  neither 
the  Grand  Trunk  nor  any  other  company  to  fear,  and  the 
monthly  returns  of  net  profit  may  be  confidently  depended  upon 
to  furnish  a  conclusive  answer  to  all  the  misrepresentations  which 


A  Rebuke  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Co.     169 

have  been  so  industriously  showered  upon  us  for  the  past  eight 
years. 

Van  Home  did  not  sacrifice  the  company's  interests 
to  his  resentment  against  the  Grand  Trunk.  At  the 
time  of  his  address  to  the  shareholders  he  was  on  the 
eve  of  concluding  an  important  traffic  arrangement  with 
the  enemy.  His  allusion  to  the  acquisition  by  the  Grand 
Trunk  of  the  Northern  and  Northwestern  lines  had  ref- 
erence to  a  move  whereby  that  company  had  decidedly 
stolen  a  march  upon  him.  The  Canadian  Pacific  was 
labouring  under  a  serious  disadvantage,  in  time  and 
expense,  in  carrying  the  growing  traffic  between  Ontario 
and  the  Northwest  and  the  Pacific  coast  over  its  very 
round-about  line  by  way  of  Smith's  Falls.  To  over- 
come this  advantage  Van  Home  had  proposed,  early  in 
1888,  to  utilize  the  Northern  and  Northwestern,  which 
gave  a  connection  between  Toronto  and  North  Bay,  a 
point  close  to  Sudbury  Junction  on  the  main  line  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific.  This  would  reduce  the  distance  from 
Toronto  to  Sudbury  to  309  miles,  as  compared  with  528 
miles  by  way  of  Smith's  Falls.  But  the  Grand  Trunk 
had  stepped  in,  bought  the  lines,  and  checkmated  him. 
Van  Home  had  immediately  caused  surveys  to  be  made 
for  a  direct  line  between  Sudbury  Junction  and  Toronto, 
which  would  answer  not  alone  for  the  main-line  traffic, 
but  for  that  of  the  lines  by  way  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  as 
well.  A  favourable  route  had  been  found,  seventy  miles 
shorter  than  that  of  the  Northern  and  Northwestern, 
but  in  order  to  avoid  the  outlay  of  capital  necessary  for 
construction,  Van  Home  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  expedient,  despite  the  longer  haul  of  seventy 
miles,  to  effect  an  arrangement  with  the  Grank  Trunk  to 
handle  the  traffic  from  Toronto  to  North  Bay  over  its 
newly  acquired  lines. 


170     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

Before  the  agreement  with  the  Grank  Trunk  could  be 
effected  the  "Shore  Line"  was  opened  for  traffic  between 
Montreal  and  the  Maritime  Provinces,  and  on  the  same 
day  a  through  train  service  was  established  by  way  of 
the  "Soo"  line  to  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis.  A  few 
weeks  later  the  other  American  line  connecting  at  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  the  Duluth,  South  Shore  and  Atlantic,  was 
also  opened  for  business.  The  extension  of  the  Ontario 
and  Quebec  to  Windsor  and  Detroit  was  practically  com- 
pleted, and  the  Canadian  Pacific  made  an  agreement 
with  three  American  roads  for  connections  to  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  and  other  western  and  southwestern  points, 
and  for  the  joint  erection  of  a  fine  terminal  station  in 
Detroit. 

These  developments  across  the  boundary  precipitated 
the  company  into  an  embarrassing  and  protracted  fight 
at  Washington.  The  strategic  value  of  the  connections 
and  fear  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  under  Van  Home's 
direction,  as  a  vigorous  and  aggressive  competitor  in- 
duced American  railways  to  seek  legislation  by  Con- 
gress rescinding  the  bonding  privileges  accorded  to 
Canadian  railways  whereby  they  were  enabled  to  carry 
American  freight  in  bond  across  Canadian  territory. 
Such  a  threat  had  been  in  the  air  for  some  time.  Chaf- 
ing under  the  restrictions  of  the  new  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act,  railway  managers  had  advocated  the  with- 
drawal of  these  privileges  on  the  ground  that  the  Cana- 
dian roads  were  not  amenable  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  could  therefore 
make  secret  rebates  and  compete  unfairly  with  Amer- 
ican lines.  Exaggerated  and  erroneous  statements  were 
made  concerning  the  company's  land  grant,  subsidies, 
and  government  loans;  and  an  impression  was  created 
among  ill-informed  members  of  Congress  that  the 


Bonding  Privileges  171 

Canadian  Pacific  was  the  creature  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment, built  for  the  purposes  of  Imperial  expansion 
and  of  establishing  dominion  over  the  Pacific. 

This  gave  rise,  at  a  time  when  Congressmen  still 
found  delight  and  political  profit  in  pulling  the  tail  of 
the  British  lion,  to  a  situation  which  was  fraught  with 
danger  to  the  company's  interests.  Van  Home  engaged 
an  able  American  lawyer,  A.  C.  Raymond  of  Detroit, 
"to  educate  Congressmen  and  the  public  generally  to  a 
realization  that  the  secret  rebate  charges  were  unjust 
and  the  motives  prompting  them  highly  selfish/'  and,  if 
necessary,  to  remind  unduly  belligerent  legislators  that 
if  the  agitation  in  Washington  were  successful,  Canada 
was  in  a  position  to  pass  retaliatory  measures.  He  him- 
self gave  evidence  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission in  New  York,  and  refuted  the  charges  and  mis- 
statements.  "You  never  go  out  without  your  gun," 
wrote  a  friend  in  Bloomington.  The  threatened  legisla- 
tion was  averted,  but  the  agitation  simmered  for  sev- 
eral years  and  Van  Home  found  it  necessary  to  retain 
Raymond  continuously  at  Washington. 

The  connection  with  American  lines  gave  rise  to  a 
difficulty  of  an  entirely  different  character — one  which 
was  to  give  Van  Home  a  great  amount  of  trouble,  to 
involve  him  in  a  struggle  with  J.  J.  Hill,  and  ulti- 
mately, though  indirectly,  to  strain  his  relations  with 
his  colleagues  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  directorate. 
The  "Soo"  line  was  in  difficulty  in  1888  and  had  ap- 
pealed for  assistance  to  Stephen,  whose  backing  of 
the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba  and  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  had  established  his  reputation  as  a 
financier.  In  order  to  shut  out  the  Grand  Trunk  from 
extending  its  North  Bay  branch  to  the  Sault  and  form- 
ing a  connection  with  the  "Soo"  line,  the  Canadian 


172     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Pacific  had  made  the  necessary  advances  to  tide  the 
American  line  over  its  difficulties,  exacting  as  the  price 
of  its  aid  an  exclusive  and  perpetual  traffic  agreement. 
Stephen  had  expected  that  Hill  would  take  over  the 
road,  and  there  was  an  understanding  to  that  effect,  but 
Hill  changed  his  mind.  Now,  within  a  year  after  the 
opening  of  the  line,  this  road  and  the  South  Shore  found 
themselves  in  deep  water  and  on  the  verge  of  default  on 
all  their  securities.  Convinced  that  their  commanding 
position  and  special  advantages  would  soon  make  them 
highly  profitable  in  themselves,  as  well  as  feeders  of 
great  importance  to  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  fearing 
that  they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
or  some  other  competitor  who  would  effect  a  traffic  ar- 
rangement with  the  Grand  Trunk,  it  was  decided  to  come 
to  their  rescue.  The  Canadian  Pacific  obtained  con- 
trol of  both  roads  by  agreements  which  included  a 
guaranty  by  the  company  of  the  principal  and  interest 
of  their  funded  debt.  Time  proved  the  wisdom  of  this 
action  in  respect  of  the  "Soo  Line/'  which  developed 
into  a  highly  prosperous  and  self-sustaining  property; 
but  it  will  be  seen  that  the  acquisition  of  the  Duluth 
and  South  Shore  involved  the  company  in  serious 
trouble. 

While  these  difficulties  were  cropping  up  across  the 
line,  Van  Home  was  hoeing  a  hard  tow  in  bringing  the 
Dominion  government  into  accord  on  a  variety  of  ques- 
tions. The  claims  in  respect  of  the  Onderdonk  section 
were  still  unsettled.  The  company  so  far  had  been 
unsuccessful  in  obtaining  proper  connections  with  the 
Intercolonial,  and  consequently  was  operating  the 
"Short  Line"  at  a  loss. 

"Does  Sir  John  think  we  are  infernal  idiots?"  he 
asked  an  Ottawa  official,  when  the  statesman  had  for- 


Land  Settlement  in  the  Northwest  173 

warded  the  terms  of  a  proposed  arrangement;  and  the 
matter  was  not  settled  until  1891. 

Despite  the  energetic  and  expensive  campaign  of  pub- 
licity and  advertising  which  Van  Home  started  to  col- 
onize the  Northwest,  the  returns  were  discouraging. 
The  government  was  apathetic,  and  he  could  not  burden 
the  company  by  offering  financial  aid  to  immigrants. 
One  of  the  drawbacks  to  settlement  was  a  widespread 
objection  to  the  homesteaders'  isolation  and  extreme 
loneliness.  In  order  to  remove  this,  Van  Home  de- 
vised a  plan  of  settlement  for  sections  and  townships 
which  provided  for  triangular  farms  and  roads  radiat- 
ing from  small  centres  of  settlement,  the  whole  clus- 
tered around  a  larger  village.  He  submitted  this  to 
the  government,  but  nothing  came  of  it,  the  Dominion 
and  provincial  governments  objecting  to  any  interfer- 
ence with  the  existing  checkerboard  system  of  survey 
introduced  into  Canada  from  the  western  States. 

The  determination  of  the  company's  land  grant  was 
also  hung  up.  The  company's  charter  provided  that 
the  subsidy  lands  should  consist  of  all  uneven  numbered 
sections  in  the  railway  belt,  but  with  the  stipulation 
that  these  should  all  be  fit  for  settlement ;  the  even  sec- 
tions being  retained  by  the  government  for  free  home- 
steads. Officers  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  had  reported 
that  a  part  of  the  railway  belt  in  Saskatchewan  was 
arid  or  semi-arid  land  unfit  for  settlement,  and  the  com- 
pany informed  the  government  of  its  desire  to  select 
lands  outside  the  belt.  The  government  balked.  They 
feared  that  a  new  bargain  would  be  misunderstood. 
Opponents  were  not  hesitating  to  charge  the  government 
with  being  in  collusion  with  the  company  to  filch  from 
the  public  purse.  And  a  general  election  was  not  far 
off, 


174    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Several  protracted  conferences  were  held,  the  govern- 
ment obstinately  refusing  to  accede  to  the  company's 
proposal  of  a  grant  of  a  block  or  blocks  of  land  outside 
the  railway  belt.  The  Minister  of  Justice,  Sir  John 
Thompson,  putting  the  government's  attitude  in  Biblical 
phrase,  said,  "Whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go,  and  where 
the  C.  P.  R.  gets  its  sections,  we  must  get  ours,  too." 

After  one  distinctly  heated  and  inconclusive  argu- 
ment, Van  Home  and  his  party  were  at  luncheon  in  the 
Rideau  Club,  when  the  buoyant,  eternally  youthful 
Premier  entered  and  invited  himself  to  a  vacant  seat  at 
their  table.  No  trace  of  annoyance  remained  on  his 
face.  He  was  all  sunshine  and  smiles  as  he  said,  with 
irresistible  bonhomie,  "Ha,  the  country  thinks  we  're  in 
partnership,  so  why  should  we  not  be  partners  at  lunch  ? 
But  if  the  veil  could  have  been  lifted  this  morning,  the 
country  would  have  been  disabused  of  its  illusions." 

Two  years  of  discussion  and  conference  elapsed  be- 
fore the  dispute  was  finally  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  government  and  the  company. 

With  these  difficulties  on  his  hands,  Van  Home  was 
nevertheless  proceeding  vigorously  with  the  development 
of  the  railway  in  all  parts  of  Canada.  A  great  number 
of  additional  branch-lines  were  constructed  in  Man- 
itoba and  the  Northwest,  and  other  lines  were  leased 
or  acquired  in  New  Brunswick,  Quebec,  and  British 
Columbia.  While  the  company  was  building  a  branch 
from  Vancouver  to  connect  with  an  American  line,  by 
which  all  the  important  cities  on  the  Pacific  coast  be- 
tween British  Columbia  and  the  Gulf  of  California  could 
be  reached,  Van  Home  was  also  taking  what  steps  he 
could  to  prevent  the  invasion  by  foreign  lines  of  the 
Kootenay  District  in  that  province — a  district  rich  in 
precious  metals  and  other  natural  resources.  Here  the 


Extensions  in  British  Columbia 

Northern  Pacitk  was  threatening  to  penetrate,  as  it  had 
done  in  Manitoba.  By  leasing  a  line  from  Sicamous 
to  Okanagan  and  by  acquiring  control  of  the  charter 
of  the  Columbia  and  Kootenay,  Van  Home  made  all 
parts  of  British  Columbia  south  of  the  main  line  reason- 
ably accessible.  But  these  defensive  measures  did  not 
satisfy  him,  and  in  a  letter  to  Stephen,  with  whom  he 
had  kept  in  daily  and  voluminous  correspondence  since 
the  latter's  removal  to  London,  he  lamented  "the  lan- 
guid way  we  are  obliged  to  meet  the  Northern  Pacific 
moves"  and  expressed  a  strong  desire  so  to  hasten  de- 
velopment that  the  company  may  be  "strong  enough  to 
mop  the  floor  with  the  Northern  Pacific  or  any  other 
American  company  extending  its  lines  into  the  North- 
west." 

But  if  he  had  not  done  all  that  he  burned  to  do,  Van 
Home  had  accomplished  much  during  the  first  two 
years  of  his  presidency,  and  in  his  annual  report  to  the 
shareholders  for  the  year  1890  he  cculd  justly  point 
with  pride  to  what  the  company  had  achieved  within 
the  period  allowed  by  the  government  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  main  line  alone.  The  date  fixed  for  that  com- 
pletion not  only  "found  the  main  line  already  more  than 
live  years  in  operation,  but  found  the  company  with 
fifty-five  hundred  miles  of  railway  in  full  and  profit- 
able operation  and  with  tributary  lines  embracing  sixteen 
hundred  miles  more;  with  its  lines  reaching  every  im- 
portant place  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  with  con- 
nections established  to  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,  St. 
Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  Duluth;  and  as  if  to  mark  this 
date  more  strongly,  the  first  of  the  company's  fleet  of 
Pacific  steamships  had  just  arrived  at  Vancouver  from 
China  and  Japan  with  a  full  passenger-list  and  a  full 
cargo." 


176     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

The  arduous  work  of  railway  operation  and  of  plan- 
ning developments  Van  Home  regarded  as  play,  but 
he  detested  politics  and  the  unbusinesslike  methods  of 
politicians  and  the  various  controversies  vith  the  gov- 
ernment were  infinitely  wearing.  Even  his  remarkable 
vitality  felt  the  strain,  and  at  the  close  of  1890  he  wrote 
Stephen  that  the  government's  "attitude  toward  the  com- 
pany is  most  unsatisfactory.  It  is  keeping  me  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  anxiety — misery,  indeed.  I  have  been 
closely  tied  down  to  office-work  for  a  good  while  back 
and  have  got  into  another  sleepless  state,  but  will  try 
to  get  out  on  the  line  soon  and  shake  that  off." 


CHAPTER  XV 

1882-90.      THE     PERSONAL     SIDE.       JAPANESE     POT- 
TERY.    PAINTING.     GAMES.     MIND-READING.     JIMMY 

FRENCH. 

THE  sum  of  his  accomplishments  in  the  construc- 
tion and  development  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
during  the  eighties  is  so  notable  that  it  might 
well  have  exhausted  the  mental  and  physical  energies 
of  the  most  robust.  But  ther«e  is  truth  in  the  para- 
dox that  no  one  has  so  much  spare  time  as  the  busy 
man,  and  Van  Home  could  never  be  idle.  His  vitality 
and  restlessness,  and  the  versatility  of  his  tastes,  de- 
manded a  constant  outlet,  if  not  in  work,  then  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  hobbies,  in  playing  games,  or  in  a  hospital- 
ity which  was  eagerly  sought  by  an  ever-growing  host 
of  friends.  Nor  was  he  neglectful  of  the  gentler  pleas- 
ures of  home  and  family,  which  lost  one  of  its  number 
in  November,  1885,  when  his  mother,  "a  noble  woman, 
courageous  and  resourceful/'  died. 

His  daughter  has  preserved  a  series  of  letters  which 
he  wrote  to  her  when  she  was  a  school-girl  in  Berlin. 
These  are  charming  by  reason  of  their  simplicity  and 
of  his  effort  to  adapt  his  pen  to  matter  which  he  sup- 
posed to  be  suitable  for  immature  years.  In  common 
with  other  busy  fathers,  he  failed  to  realize  that  she 
was  almost  grown  up,  and  embellished  his  letters  with 
humorous  sketches  of  the  family  and  their  hobbies — 
little  bits  of  home  gossip  giving  unconscious  pictures 

of  himself. 

177 


178    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

"Little  Grandma  and  I  beat  Mama  and  Aunt  Mary 
this  evening  at  whist.  No.  Almost,  but  so  near  that 
Grandma  was  quite  happy." 

He  expected  her  to  rejoice  with  him  in  each  new 
picture  he  had  secured  or  in  the  good  lines  of  a  mantel 
he  had  just  designed,  but  when  she  began  looking  up 
the  Van  Home  genealogy  in  Holland  and  wrote  him 
of  the  family's  coat  of  arms,  he  poked  fun  at  her  and 
her  heraldry.  His  women-folk  insisted  that  they  had 
found  the  Dutch  patriot  Count  Van  Hoorn  (de  Home) 
on  their  family  tree,  but  he  professed  nothing  but  laugh- 
ing contempt  for  the  American  search  for  ancestors  in 
Europe.  Families  of  the  New  World,  he  declared, 
should  look  to  no  record,  no  past,  but  that  which  they 
made  for  themselves.  It  was  better  to  be  a  respectable 
descendant  than  to  have  an  illustrious  ancestor. 

He  found  time,  too,  to  carry  on  an  entertaining  cor- 
respondence with  some  of  the  friends  he  had  made  dur- 
ing a  first  and  hurried  trip  to  Europe,  especially  with 
Lord  Elphinstone,  the  Queen's  Equerry-in- Waiting, 
whom  he  had  previously  met  in  Canada,  and  Aitken,  the 
Glasgow  artist,  a  man  of  much  wit  and  humour. 

Circumstances  had  pushed  palaeontology  into  the 
background.  Publications  of  the  Geological  Surveys  at 
Washington  and  Ottawa  were  always  on  the  table  in 
his  library,  and  he  kept  himself  abreast  with  the  broad 
results  of  their  explorations  and  investigations.  He 
exchanged  specimens  and  corresponded  with  James 
Geikie,  the  Edinburgh  geologist,  after  the  latter's  visit 
to  Canada;  and  during  construction  days  he  would 
sometimes  stop  his  train  in  a  rock-cutting  to  spend  a 
few  happy  minutes  in  a  search  for  fossils.  But  after 
his  arrival  in  Canada  he  never  seriously  resumed  the 
task  of  collecting,  and  soon  abandoned  it  altogether. 


Painting  by  Gas  Light  179 

Precluded  from  painting  by  daylight,  he  took  up  his 
brush  and  palette  at  night,  and  would  often  remain  at 
his  easel  until  two  or  three  in  the  morning.  The  dis- 
advantage of  working  with  gas  light  added  to  his  zest, 
for  it  represented  a  difficulty  to  be  overcome;  and  it 
cannot  be  questioned  that  he  attained  astonishing  skill 
in  overcoming  it. 

Sometimes  his  studio  was  shared  by  the  artist  Percy 
Woodcock,  and  the  two  would  paint  industriously  or 
gratify  Van  Home's  insatiable  desire  for  new  effects  by 
experimenting  in  colors.  Woodcock  has  given  an 
illuminating  picture  of  those  evenings : 

Van  Home  painted  as  birds  sing,  as  naturally  and  enjoyably. 
It  was  a  form  of  relief  to  his  creative  faculties  that  were  con- 
tinually seeking  an  outlet.  In  the  studio  his  railway  work  was 
put  entirely  behind  him — except  in  1885,  when  he  was  so  worried 
about  the  road's  condition  that  sometimes  in  the  middle  of  a 
joyous  bit  of  painting  the  thought  of  the  road  would  come  to 
him  like  a  shock  and  hang  over  him,  holding  him  totally  ab- 
sorbed and  still.  But  when  he  presently  threw  it  off,  you  would 
think  he  had  no  other  interest  .in  life  than  painting.  To  live 
close  to  a  personality  so  winning  and  so  strong  was  as  surely  to 
become  submerged  in  it  as  the  women  of  his  household  were.  .  .  . 
I  became  so  attached  to  him  that  in  our  repeated  talks  on  art  I 
found  myself  leaning  too  strongly  toward  his  views.  His  make- 
up was  so  positive  that  he  exerted  a  tremendous  influence  on  any- 
one less  positive.  I  wanted  to  keep  my  art,  whatever  it  should 
be,  as  my  own,  and  I  often  had  to  deliberately  stay  away  from  his 
studio  until  I  left  for  Europe. 

Van  Home's  opportunities  for  painting  did  not  sat- 
isfy his  artistic  instincts,  growing  more  insistent  year 
by  year;  and  they  found  vent  in  other  directions.  He 
had  hardly  stopped  collecting  fossils  before  he  began 
to  collect  Japanese  pottery.  His  pieces  were  carefully 
chosen  to  illustrate  historically  the  development  of  the 


180     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

art,  and  by  1886  his  collection  had  attained  such  size  and 
quality  that  his  friend  Meysenburg  of  St.  Louis — an- 
other artistic  mind  tied  to  business — could  write  of 
"adding  another  trifle  to  your  rich  collection." 

More  slowly,  and  with  independence  of  judgment,  he 
was  forming  the  nucleus  of  a  remarkable  collection  of 
paintings.     In  keeping  with  the  vogue  which  it  then  en- 
joyed with  American  collectors,  the  Barbizon  school 
made  an  early  appeal  to  him,  and  his  first  important 
acquisition  was  an  example  of  Rousseau's  work.     But 
while  his  purchases  in  the  eighties  were  almost  exclu- 
sively works  of  French  artists,  they  were  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  realists.     By   1890,  Decamps,   Michel, 
Monet,  Daumier,  Ribot,  and  Bonvin,  as  well  as  Corot, 
were  well  represented  in  his  collection;  his  Delacroixs 
were  sufficiently  important  to  be  sought  for  a  loan  ex- 
hibition in  New  York;  and,  among  others,  he  had  sev- 
eral examples  of  Montecelli's  joyous  but  perishable  or- 
chestration of  colors.     Benjamin  Constant  and  other  ar- 
tists entertained  in  his  home,  which  was  becoming  inter- 
nationally known  for  its  hospitality,  left  with  him  sou- 
venirs  of   their   visits   in  the   form   of   drawings   or 
sketches  in  oil,  exchanged  for  samples  of  his  own  work. 
In  1890  Van  Home  began  to  prepare  a  fitting  home 
for  the  treasures  he  had  and  the  treasures  he  hoped  to 
acquire.     He  bought  one  of  the  substantial  grey-stone 
houses  typical  of   Montreal,   fronting  on   Sherbrooke 
Street,  close  to  the  slopes  of  Mount  Royal.     Enlarging 
and  altering  it,  with  the  assistance  of  his  friend  Colonna, 
he  secured  a  residence  of  distinction  and  character  in  its 
proportions,  while  within  it  was  a  repository  for  art 
that  was  itself  a  work  of  art.     Velvet  wall-hangings  in 
soft  mellow  tones  were  made  the  background  for  pic- 
tures and  porcelains,  to  which  more  rare  and  beautiful 


'    ' 


MOONLIGHT    ON    THE    ST.    CROIX    RIVER 


THE    BIRCH 

(Paintings  by  Sir  William  Van  Home) 


Recreations  181 

examples  were  added  year  by  year.  No  one  ever  had 
a  keener  enjoyment  in  the  sense  of  possession  than  he; 
and  in  hanging  his  pictures  and  in  disposing  suitably 
his  other  treasures  of  ceramics,  bronzes,  tapestries,  an- 
tique models  of  ships,  and  so  forth,  he  found  the  same 
absorbing  pleasure  as  he  had  found  in  mounting  and 
classifying  his  fossils. 

In  his  home,  in  his  car,  or  in  his  clubs  in  Montreal, 
Ottawa  and  New  York,  he  was  ever  ready  to  join 
in  a  hand  at  poker  or  whist.  He  had  mastered  the 
angles  of  the  English  billiard-table  and  the  mysteries  of 
side  and  screw,  and,  despite  his  corpulency,  he  handled 
a  cue  well.  He  loved  games,  and  attacked  them  with  a 
boyish  zest  which  was  never  quenched,  summoning  all 
his  extraordinary  power  of  concentration  to  his  aid  in 
the  effort  to  conquer  his  opponents.  He  kept  a  set  of 
chessmen  on  his  private  car,  and  would  leave  a  bevy 
of  directors  and  business  magnates  to  do  battle  over 
the  board  through  an  evening  and  the  long  hours  of  the 
night  with  an  unimportant  secretary. 

Nor  did  he  disdain  the  lighter  accomplishments  of 
the  drawing-room.  He  could  show  innumerable  card- 
tricks,  and  could  "force  a  card"  as  well  as  a  conjurer. 
When  Stuart  Cumberland  was  creating  a  world-wild 
furore  with  his  feats  of  so-called  mind-reading,  Van 
Home  astonished  his  friends  and  guests  by  displaying 
a  supposedly  similar  faculty.  All  through  his  life  he 
took  a  curious  delight  in  impressing  the  beholder  by  an 
exhibition  of  exceptional  powers.  This  he  was  en- 
abled to  do  by  combining  a  prodigious  memory  with  a 
remarkable  gift  for  observation  and  deduction.  He 
used  to  tell  an  amusing  story  of  a  test  which  was  im- 
posed on  him  in  Sir  Donald  Smith's  drawing-room  after 
some  successful  fooling  at  the  dinner-table.  The  party 


182     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

insisted  that,  seated  at  one  end  of  the  room,  he  should 
reproduce  a  drawing  made  by  Sir  George  Stephen  at  the 
other  end. 

"I  didn't  know  what  the  devil  to  do,  and  as  I  sat 
with  pencil  and  paper  before  me  my  mind  was  a  perfect 
blank.  Then  I  began  to  think  and  think  hard.  I  sud- 
denly remembered  Lady  Stephen  telling  me  a  few  years 
before  that  her  husband  could  only  draw  one  thing — a 
salmon.  I  cast  a  sly  glance  over  to  the  other  end  of  the 
room,  and  saw  his  hand  moving  quickly  in  small  circles. 
The  scales!  So  I  drew  a  salmon  as  quickly  as  I  could. 
And,  by  jinks,  it  was  right." 

The  cumulative  effect  of  such  impressions  enabled 
him  to  create  in  the  minds  of  men  working  on  the  rail- 
way the  belief  that  he  was  endowed  with  superhuman 
attributes,  that  he  was  indeed  omniscient. 

"I  believe  Mr.  Van  Home  knows,  or  will  know,  that 
I  am  here  now,  lying  on  this  grass,  talking  to  you  and 
watching  you  paint  that  picture,"  declared  a  young  sta- 
tion agent  at  Yale,  who,  having  taken  a  few  minutes 
off  duty,  was  watching  William  Brymner,  the  well- 
known  artist,  at  work  on  the  banks  of  the  Fraser. 
When  Van  Home  was  asked  for  an  explanation  he  told 
the  following,  among  several  stories  illustrative  of  his 
methods. 

One  evening  I  was  traveling  in  my  private  car  along  what  was, 
in  those  days,  a  rough  part  of  the  road  north  of  Lake  Superior. 
When  the  train  stopped  at  a  small  station  to  take  water,  I  got 
off  to  take  a  turn  on  the  platform  and  stretch  my  legs.  Going 
into  the  waiting-room,  my  attention  was  attracted  by  a  conver- 
sation the  telegraph  operator  in  the  office  behind  the  wicket  was 
having  on  the  ticker  with  another  operator  away  up  the  line. 
I  listened  and  heard  that  "the  boys"  on  the  train  which  had  just 
left  for  the  east  were  having  a  great  time.  They  had  taken 
cushions  from  the  first-class  carriage,  had  made  themselves  com- 


Recreations  183 

fortable  in  the  baggage-car,  and  were  playing  poker.  I  did  not 
say  anything  then,  but  when  I  got  further  down  the  line  I  tele- 
graphed back  to  a  station  where  the  train  with  "the  boys"  was 
due  to  arrive  a  peremptory  message  that  the  cushions  were  to  be 
returned  to  the  first-class  carriage  and  that  employees  were  not 
allowed  to  play  poker  in  the  company's  time.  From  that  day 
to  this  those  men  don't  know  how  I  found  out  what  they  were 
doing. 

Travel  was  his  unfailing  restorative.  In  his  private 
car,  the  "Saskatchewan,"  he  slept  like  a  child  and  was  al- 
ways at  his  best.  On  his  inspection  tours  he  traveled  by 
a  special  train.  When  there  was  no  need  of  close  in- 
spection the  train  swept  like  a  cyclone  through  small 
stations  and  drew  up  at  water-tanks  and  divisional 
points  in  a  cloud  of  steam  and  dust,  from  which  the 
president  instantly  emerged.  It  happened  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye — a  Jovian  descent  that  was  as  enjoy- 
able to  every  railwayman  in  sight  as  it  was  to  himself. 
He  continued  to  be  as  approachable  to  a  yardman  as  to 
a  director,  and  as  solicitous  for  his  welfare.  Compelled 
one  day  to  wait  some  hours  at  Field,  he  took  the  train- 
men up  to  the  hotel  to  dinner,  personally  assuring  him- 
self that  they  should  have  as  fine  a  dinner  as  the  house 
could  provide,  though  to  do  this  he  had  to  postpone 
that  of  his  immediate  party.  Acts  like  these  went,  like 
the  touch  on  a  stringed  instrument,  clear  along  the  line 
and  made  him  the  friend  of  every  man  in  the  service. 

His  guests  on  these  trips  were  continually  enlivened 
by  his  practical  jokes,  which  were  invariably  conceived 
without  malice  and  in  a  spirit  of  genuine  fun.  They 
were  frequently  worked  out  over  considerable  periods  of 
time,  and,  pressing  telegraphy  into  his  service,  he  would 
sometimes  keep  the  wires  busy  with  messages  that 
turned  out  to  be  bogus.  In  the  denouements  the  un- 
suspecting victims  were  not  so  much  stunned  with  sur- 


184     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

prise  as  bewildered  by  the  admirable  ingenuity  and  care- 
ful elaboration  of  the  plot. 

In  the  perpetration  of  these  jokes  he  had  an  apt  con- 
federate in  Jimmy  French,  his  porter.  A  quick-witted 
and  unprepossessing  negro,  Jimmy  was  an  excellent 
cook  and  devoted  to  his  master's  comfort.  He  was 
given,  and  exercised  to  the  full,  a  liberty  of  speech  which 
no  one  else  would  have  dared,  and  which  frequently  led 
strangers  to  suppose  that  he  must  have  saved  Van 
Home's  life  or  rendered  him  some  other  unforgettable 
service.  But  there  was  a  perfect  understanding  be- 
tween the  two.  After  an  outbreak  of  picturesque 
vituperation  from  his  master  for  some  failure  of  service, 
Jimmy  would  seat  himself  a  few  minutes  later  on  the 
arm  of  Van  Home's  chair  and  punctuate  the  game  of 
poker  with  droll  remarks. 

"Well,  Jim,"  said  Van  Home  on  one  occasion,  "it 
looks  as  if  there  was  not  much  for  the  car  in  this  game." 

"I  see  dat,  sah.  Dat  's  always  the  way.  You  get 
dose  genmuns  in  an'  teach  dem  a  new  game,  and  dey 
takes  from  you  all  de  money  in  yo'  jeans." 

Jimmy  identified  himself  with  the  Canadian  Pacific 
and  its  president.  Returning  from  the  inspection  of  a 
rock-cutting,  Van  Home  found  him  sitting  gloomily  on 
the  steps  of  the  car. 

"Jim,  what 's  the  matter  ?"  he  asked.  "Are  you  think- 
ing of  committing  suicide?" 

"Wa'l,  Mistah  Van  Home,"  replied  Jimmy  mourn- 
fully, "I  Ve  been  a-lookin'  on  at  all  dat  work,  a-tearin' 
down  and  a-pilin'  up  of  so  much  rock,  and  I  've  just  been 
thinkin' — dat 's  what  takes  the  gilt-edge  off  our  divi- 
dends." 

A  mock  argument  with  Jimmy,  which  provoked  a 
stream  of  quick-witted  and  often  droll  replies,  was  a 


Master  and  Man  185 

frequent  means  of  diversion  for  Van  Home  and  his 
guests.  On  one  occasion  when  he  was  being  bantered 
by  Sir  John  Macdonald  and  Sir  George  Stephen,  as  well 
as  by  his  master,  he  resorted  to  a  lie,  which  Sir  George 
promptly  challenged.  Jimmy  was  up  a  ladder,  winding 
a  clock.  "Wa'al,  you  know,  Mistah  Van  Home,"  he 
said,  glancing  over  his  shoulder  at  the  group  below, 
"we  railwaymen  have  to  do  a  little  of  dat  in  our  busi- 


ness." 


The  "Saskatchewan"  was  frequently  put  at  the  service 
of  distinguished  travelers,  with  Jimmy  in  charge  of  the 
party.  When  the  Marquis  of  Lome  and  Princess 
Louise  were  leaving  Canada  at  the  close  of  their  vice- 
regal term,  they  traveled  to  Quebec  in  his  care  and  were 
amused  by  Jimmy's  "Missa  Louise"  and  "Your  Succu- 
lency."  They  told  Jimmy  to  call  at  their  hotel  and  see 
them  before  leaving.  Jimmy  arrayed  himself  in  his 
best,  made  his  call,  and  was  refused  admittance  to  Their 
Excellencies  by  their  attendants.  Lord  Lome,  on  hear- 
ing of  this,  drove  immediately  down  to  the  "Saskatche- 
wan" to  say  good-by  to  Jimmy. 

"And  what  did  you  do  when  the  Marquis  came?" 
asked  Van  Home,  to  whom  Jimmy  was  relating  his  ex- 
periences. 

"I  done  ma  very  best,  sah,  to  make  him  feel  at  home. 
I  brought  out  de  whiskey  and  soda,  sah." 

When  friends  of  Sir  George  Stephen  or  Sir  Donald 
Smith  traveled  through  Canada  on  the  "Saskatchewan," 
Jimmy  would  write  to  the  former  in  London  and  give 
his  version  of  the  travelers'  impressions  of  the  road,  to 
which  he  sometimes  added  comments  of  his  own  on  their 
personal  characteristics.  Apropos  of  the  wife  of  a  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Australia,  he  wrote: 

"She  was  the  holler est  lady  I  ever  met.     Fust  thing 


1 86     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

in  the  morning,  it  was  tea ;  then  a  little  breakfast,  then 
lunch,  then  tea,  then  dinner — and  a  bite  of  supper  before 
she  went  to  bed." 

Jimmy  always  had  an  eye  to  the  main  chance,  and 
from  his  wages  and  the  handsome  tips  he  received 
amassed  a  considerable  sum  which  he  invested  in  house- 
property  in  Chicago,  his  old  home.  One  day,  in  the 
nineties,  he  announced  that  he  was  going  to  leave  the 
Canadian  Pacific  and  return  to  Chicago. 

"How  will  the  Boss  get  along  without  you?"  he  was 
asked. 

"Dat  's  what  I  doan'  know,  sah,"  said  Jimmy,  in  some 
distress.  "Dat 's  what 's  troublin'  me  most." 

Jimmy  went  to  Chicago,  but  soon  found  that  he  could 
not  live  without  his  "Boss"  and  the  "Saskatchewan." 
There  was  no  Van  Home  in  Chicago  of  whom  he  could 
speak  as  "we"  He  missed  the  delight  of  telling  every- 
one who  would  listen  "how  we  built  the  C.  P.  R."  He 
returned  to  Montreal,  to  find  that  the  president  was  not 
going  to  hold  out  his  arms  to  the  prodigal.  Van  Home 
wanted  Jimmy  back,  and  knew  that  Jimmy  wanted  to 
return  to  the  car,  but  he  was  not  going  to  ask  him. 
Jimmy  hung  disconsolately  about  the  company's  head- 
quarters. Finally  a  day  came  when  the  "Saskatche- 
wan" was  going  out,  and  by  some  chance,  in  which  a 
prominent  official  of  the  company  was  the  deus  ex  ma- 
china,  there  was  no  porter  available.  Jimmy  was 
hunted  out  of  his  nearby  cache  and  stolidly  took  his 
place.  The  first  hours  of  the  trip  were  abnormally 
silent,  and  then,  without  any  reference  to  what  had 
happened,  the  old  relations  between  master  and  man 
were  resumed,  to  be  broken  only  by  death. 

One  extremely  hot  summer  day  in  1901,  when  he 
was  getting  the  car  ready  for  a  journey  to  Boston, 


Master  and  Man  187 

Jimmy  was  stricken  with  heat-apoplexy  and  was  found 
dead  where  he  fell,  on  his  master's  bed.  No  railway 
porter  ever  had  a  more  imposing  funeral,  and  Van 
Home,  who  was  deeply  affected  by  the  loss  of  his  de- 
voted servant,  walked  at  the  head  of  the  procession  as 
chief  mourner. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

1891.      A  GENERAL  ELECTION.       MANIFESTO  AGAINST 
RECIPROCITY   WITH    U.    S.      OFFER  OF   KNIGHTHOOD. 
THE  CHATEAU  FRONTENAC.      THE  FIRST  ROUND-THE- 
WORLD   TOUR. 

BECAUSE  they  were  so  directly  the  product  of 
Van  Home's  genius,  some  attempt  has  been 
made  to  indicate  the  more  interesting  features  of 
the  development  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  up  to  the  end 
of  1890.  It  would  be  both  wearisome  and  outside  the 
scope  of  these  pages  to  follow  with  particularity  its  gen- 
eral development  further.  Administrative  problems, 
extensions  and  connections,  traffic-wars  and  competi- 
tion, inhere  in  the  management  of  any  great  and  grow- 
ing railway  system.  It  must  suffice  hereafter,  there- 
fore, to  mention  those  policies,  events,  and  incidents  in 
which  he  took  a  special  interest  or  played  a  conspicuous 
part,  or  which  throw  light  upon  his  character  and  in- 
tellect. Before  withdrawing  within  these  limits,  how- 
ever, it  may  be  well  to  give  in  his  own  words  his  view 
of  the  company's  position  at  the  beginning  of  its  second 
decade  and  his  grounds  for  regarding  its  future  with 
complete  optimism. 

Earning  more  than  sixteen  million  dollars,  with 
profits  exceeding  six  million  dollars,  the  company  had 
"at  the  same  time  the  highest  possible  reputation,  based 
on  the  prompt  discharge  of  all  its  obligations  from  the 
beginning,  and  having  a  financial  standing  hardly  sec- 
ond to  that  of  any  railway  company  on  this  continent; 

188 


Growth  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway       189 

and  occupying,  furthermore,  the  unique  position  of  hav- 
ing made  a  reasonable  return  to  its  shareholders  from 
the  outset,  and  in  having  repaid  with  interest,  and  long 
before  it  became  due,  every  dollar  borrowed  from  the 
government.  .  .  .  Anything  like  general  competition  is 
practically  impossible ;  the  country  tributary  to  the  com- 
pany's lines  is  of  enormous  extent,  its  potential  wealth 
is  without  limit;  the  knowledge  of  its  advantages  is 
spreading  throughout  the  world,  and  people  are  at- 
tracted to  it  in  constantly  increasing  numbers." 

The  company  had  fortunately  escaped  involvement  in 
the  Baring  failure  of  the  preceding  year.  For  several 
years  subsequent  to  1885  that  house  had  handled  all 
Canadian  Pacific  securities,  but  when,  in  1889,  the  com- 
pany sought  its  services,  Lord  Revelstoke,  probably 
with  a  prescience  of  the  downfall  of  his  firm,  had  refused 
on  the  ground  that  the  company  was  sufficiently  well 
established  to  sell  its  securities  over  its  own  counter. 

The  Dominion  government  appeared  to  be  more  com- 
plaisant and  amenable  to  reason,  and  the  long-pending 
questions  in  dispute  were,  almost  without  exception,  be- 
ing satisfactorily  adjusted.  The  Opposition  press 
charged  the  government  with  being  in  unholy  alliance 
with  the  company,  but  letters  which  passed  between 
Van  Home  and  Stephen  clearly  indicate  that  the  charge 
was  far  from  true. 

The  former  wrote: 

The  Ministers  have  recently  shown  themselves  much  better 
disposed  toward  us  than  usual,  but  how  they  will  be  a  week  from 
now,  nobody  can  know.  I  have  no  more  confidence  than  you, 
but  the  friendly  feeling  so  conspicuously  manifested  toward  us 
by  both  sides  of  the  House  last  winter,  and  still  more  this  winter, 
is  sure  to  have  its  effect  with  Sir  John  and  his  ministers.  I  have 
never  seen  anywhere  such  hearty  and  general  goodwill  mani- 


190     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

fested  toward  a  railway  company  as  that  which  now  prevails 
toward  the  C.  P.  R.  at  Ottawa.  ...  I  have  reason  to  suspect 
that  Sir  John  is  somewhat  jealous  of  our  Grit  support,  but  the 
more  so  the  better. 

Stephen  replied  as  follows: 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  most  of  the  matters  between  you  and 
the  Government  are  disposed  of.  Past  experience  will  have 
taught  you  to  have  everything  "copper-fastened,"  so  that  a  change 
of  mind  may  be  beyond  possibility.  It  is  impossible  to  trust  our 
Ottawa  friends  to  carry  out  anything  they  promise  at  the  time 
they  promise.  It  will  always  be  thus  as  long  as  Sir  John  is 
"Boss."  Looking  back  over  the  past  ten  years  I  can  see  that 
we  should  have  broken  down  a  dozen  different  times,  had  Sir 
John  been  Minister  of  Railways  and  acting  in  his  peculiarly  dila- 
tory method.  .  .  .  What  they  have  done  for  you  now  is  satis- 
factory, but  they  are  only  giving  you  back  what  they  had  no  right 
ever  to  have  taken  from  us.  We  are  still  far  from  having  got 
what  rightfully  belongs  to  us. 

That  the  wave  of  friendliness  was  due  to  the  efforts 
of  politicians  on  both  sides  to  secure  the  support  of  the 
powerful  and  numerous  friends  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  obvious  to  Van  Home  as 
it  ought  to  have  been.  A  general  election  was  at  hand. 
But  he  was  no  politician,  had  kept  himself  at  all  times 
aloof  from  politics,  and,  with  his  co-directors,  had  reso- 
lutely preserved  the  company  from  alliance  of  every 
kind  with  either  of  the  two  parties.  He  had  no  political 
attachments  north  or  south  of  the  international  bound- 
ary, and  his  political  ideals  were  simple.  They  would 
have  been  completely  satisfied  by  the  establishment  of 
any  government  which  assured  a  clean  and  thoroughly 
business-like  administration.  He  had  a  high  apprecia- 
tion of  the  prompt  and  energetic  methods  of  Sir  Charles 
Tupper,  but,  while  the  company  owed  its  being  to  Sir 
John  Macdonald,  he  and  his  colleagues  had  suffered 


A  Dominion  Election  191 

much  from  that  leader's  procrastination  and  elusive- 
ness.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  attracted  by  the  charm 
and  winning  personality  of  Wilfrid  Laurier,  the  leader 
of  the  Liberal  party  which  had  for  some  time  dropped 
its  policy  of  strenuous  opposition  to  the  Canadian 
Pacific. 

As  the  election  drew  near,  Van  Home  was  wooed  by 
members  of  both  parties;  and  before  it  took  place  he 
felt  himself  forced  to  make  public  contradiction  of  views 
attributed  to  him.  The  issue  upon  which  the  election 
was  fought  was  that  of  unrestricted  reciprocity  in  trade 
with  the  United  States;  and,  if  he  were  no  politician, 
he  was  first,  last,  and  always  a  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
man.  Sincerely  convinced  that  reciprocity  would  irrep- 
arably damage  the  prospects  of  his  company  and  re- 
tard the  development  of  Canada's  natural  resources  for 
a  generation,  in  a  moment  of  impulse  and  self-confi- 
dence, and  without  consultation  with  any  of  his  col- 
leagues, he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Senator 
George  A.  Drummond,  the  chairman  of  the  Conserva- 
tive party  in  Montreal: 

February  21,  1891. 
My  dear  Mr.  Drummond, 

You  are  quite  right  in  assuming  that  the  statement  in  the 
letter  enclosed  in  your  note  of  to-day  is  untrue.  I  am  not  in 
favour  of  unrestricted  reciprocity,  or  anything  of  the  kind.  I 
am  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  trade  and  industries  of 
Canada  to  know  that  unrestricted  reciprocity  would  bring  pros- 
tration or  ruin.  I  realize  that  for  saying  this  I  may  be  accused 
of  meddling  in  politics,  but  with  me  this  is  a  business  question 
and  not  a  political  one,  and  it  so  vitally  affects  the  interests  that 
have  been  intrusted  to  me  that  I  feel  justified  in  expressing  my 
opinion  plainly ;  indeed,  since  opposite  views  have  been  attributed 
to  me,  I  feel  bound  to  do  so. 

No  one  can  follow  the  proceedings  in  Congress  at  Washington 
and  the  utterances  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  United 


192     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

States  without  being  struck  with  the  extraordinary  jealousy  that 
prevails  there  concerning  Canada — jealousy  growing  out  of  the 
wonderful  development  of  her  trade  and  manufactures  within 
the  past  twelve  years. 

It  was  this  jealousy  that  prompted  the  anti-Canadian  features 
of  the  McKinley  bill.  It  was  represented  and  believed  at  Wash- 
ington that  the  Canadian  farmers  largely  depended  upon  the 
United  States  for  a  market  for  many  of  their  chief  products  and 
that  their  loyalty  could  be  touched  through  their  pockets  and  that 
it  was  only  necessary  to  "put  on  the  screws"  to  bring  about  a 
political  upheaval  in  Canada  and  such  a  reversal  of  the  trade 
policy  of  the  country  as  would  inevitably  lead  to  annexation. 

I  have  found  it  necessary  to  keep  well  informed  as  to  the  drift 
of  matters  at  Washington,  because  the  interests  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  have  been  threatened  by  all  sorts  of  restrictive 
measures,  and  from  my  knowledge  of  the  feeling  there  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  if  the  result  of  the  pending  elections  in  Can- 
ada is  what  the  authors  of  the  McKinley  bill  expected  it  would 
be,  another  turn  of  the  screw  will  follow. 

No  comfort  is  to  be  found  in  the  recent  disaster  to  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  the  United  States.  It  was  not  the  anti-Canadian 
features  of  the  McKinley  bill  that  caused  this,  but  the  heavily  in- 
creased duties  on  many  articles,  the  manufacture  of  which  at 
home  was  intended  to  be  forced.  This  increase  of  duties  came 
at  a  time  of  general  depression  among  the  farmers  and  working 
classes,  and  it  was  resented  by  them.  Trade  relations  with  Can- 
ada had  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  they  were  not  thinking  of  us. 

Putting  aside  all  patriotic  considerations  and  looking  at  the 
question  of  unrestricted  reciprocity  from  a  strictly  business  stand- 
point, what,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  has  Canada  to  gain 
by  it  at  this  time? 

Thousands  of  farms  in  the  New  England  States  are  aban- 
doned ;  the  farmers  of  the  Middle  States  are  all  complaining  and 
those  of  some  of  the  Western  States  are  suffering  to  such  an 
extent  that  organized  relief  is  necessary.  The  manufacturers 
everywhere  are  alarmed  as  to  their  future  and  most  of  them  are 
reducing  their  output,  working  on  short  time,  and  seeking  orders 
at  absolute  cost,  so  that  they  may  keep  their  best  workers  together. 

We  are  infinitely  better  off  in  Canada.     We  have  no  aban- 


A  Dominion  Election  193 

doned  farms  and  no  distress  anywhere;  and  there  is  work  for 
everybody  who  is  willing  to  work. 

Our  neighbour's  big  mill-pond  is  very  low  just  now  but  our 
smaller  one  is  at  least  full  enough  to  keep  us  going  comfortably. 
His  pond  requires  twelve  times  as  much  as  ours  to  fill  It  is  not 
necessary  that  a  small  boy  should  be  a  school-boy  to  know  what 
the  result  would  be  if  we  were  to  cut  our  dam.  Our  pond  would 
at  once  fall  to  the  level  of  the  other. 

Even  if  we  were  suffering  from  hard  times,  we  could  gain 
nothing  by  unrestricted  reciprocity.  Xo  man  of  sense  would 
seek  partnership  with  one  worse  off  than  himself,  because  he 
happened  to  be  hard  up.  You  can't  make  a  good  egg  out  of  two 
bad  eggs. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  far  and  away  the  largest 
buyer  of  manufactured  articles  in  Canada ;  it  buys  dry  goods  and 
groceries,  as  well  as  locomotives  and  cars;  it  buys  pins  and 
needles  and  millinery  goods,  as  well  as  nails  and  splices  and 
spikes ;  it  buys  drugs  and  medicines  and  clothing,  as  well  as  bolts 
and  wheels  and  axles ;  it  buys  almost  every  conceivable  thing,  and 
it  is  necessarily  in  close  touch  with  the  markets  at  home  and 
abroad ;  it  has  built  up  or  been  instrumental  in  building  up  hun- 
dreds of  new  industries  in  the  country,  and  it  is  the  chief  support 
of  many  of  them;  and  its  experience  with  these  markets  and 
these  industries  justifies  my  belief  that  unrestricted  reciprocity 
with  the  United  States  and  a  joint  protective  tariff  against  the 
rest  of  the  world  would  make  New  York  the  chief  distributing 
point  for  the  Dominion,  instead  of  Montreal  and  Toronto ;  woulcl 
localize  the  business  of  the  ports  of  Montreal  and  Quebec  and 
destroy  all  hope  of  the  future  of  the  ports  of  Halifax  and  St. 
John ;  would  ruin  three  fourths  of  our  manufactories ;  would  fill 
our  streets  with  the  unemployed ;  would  make  Eastern  Canada 
the  dumping  ground  for  the  grain  and  flour  of  the  Western 
States,  to  the  injury  of  our  own  Northwest,  and  would  make 
Canada  generally  the  slaughter-market  for  the  manufactures  of 
the  United  States. 

All  of  which  would  be  bad  for  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
as  well  as  for  the  country  at  large ;  and  this  is  my  excuse  for  say- 
ing so  much. 

I  am  not  speaking  for  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company, 


194     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

nor  as  a  Liberal  or  a  Conservative,  but  only  as  an  individual  much 
concerned  in  the  business  interests  of  the  country  and  full  of 
anxiety  lest  a  great  commercial,  if  not  a  national,  mistake  should 
be  made. 

Stephen  wrote  from  London: 

Your  political  manifesto,  published  in  Monday  evening's  papers, 
took  us  all  by  surprise.  The  papers  here,  so  far  as  they  notice 
it,  comment  favourably.  Public  opinion  on  this  side  is  decidedly 
on  the  side  of  Sir  John,  though  almost  no  one  believes  that  reci- 
procity, limited,  as  proposed  by  Sir  John,  or  unlimited,  as  pro- 
posed by  Cartwright,  would  have  the  dire  effect,  political  and 
commercial,  which  he  and  you  foreshadowed  in  your  respective 
manifestoes.  People  here,  almost  to  a  man,  are  such  ultra  Free- 
traders on  principle,  worshipping  it  as  a  fetish,  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  believe  that  free  intercourse,  limited  or  unlimited, 
with  the  United  States  would  not  be  a  great  boon  to  Canada.  .  .  . 
Our  C.  P.  R.  friends  regard  it  variously.  ...  I  have  said  to  them 
all  that  I  was  quite  sure  you  did  not  take  the  step  without  fully 
considering  the  effect  it  would  have  on  the  interests  of  the  Com- 
pany both  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  and  was  confident 
events  would  justify  what  you  had  done.  ...  I  have  just  seen 
Lord  Lome.  He  is  delighted  with  political  letter. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  Van  Home  despatched  his 
letter  to  Senator  Drummond  than  he  realized  that  he 
had  made  a  serious  error  of  judgment  in  thus  taking 
part  in  an  election  campaign,  for,  despite  every  dis- 
claimer, the  letter  was  bound  to  implicate  the  company. 
In  great  distress  he  sought  the  counsel  of  his  trusted 
colleague,  Shaughnessy,  and  asked  if  it  would  be  wise 
for  him  to  write  another  explanatory  letter.  But  the 
blunder  was  beyond  repair.  No  explanation  would  ex- 
tinguish the  intense  animosity  of  the  Liberal  party 
which,  if  it  came  into  power,  would  leave  nothing  un- 
done to  hamper  and  harass  the  company.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances he  was  advised  that  the  only  course  was  to 


A  Dominion  Election  195 

come  into  the  open  and  render  all  possible  assistance  to 
the  Conservatives.  This  advice  was  adopted,  and 
through  various  channels  controlled  by  the  company 
some  effective  and  far-reaching  electioneering  machin- 
ery was  organized,  to  which,  in  the  opinion  of  compe- 
tent observers,  Sir  John  Macdonald  owed  his  success  at 
the  polls.  Van  Home  suddenly  found  himself  with  a 
reputation  for  political  power  which  he  did  not  deserve 
and  which  he  was  careful  to  disown. 

The  campaign  severely  overtaxed  the  aged  Premier's 
powers.  On  June  6  Van  Home  wrote  Stephen  that  Sir 
John  was  dying,  and  "notwithstanding  his  growing  in- 
firmity of  purpose  he  wrill  be  sadly  missed — his  follow- 
ers will  be  like  a  flock  of  lost  sheep." 

The  choice  of  a  new  Prime  Minister  had  readily  fallen 
on  John  J.  C.  Abbott,  who  had  been  a  director  and 
the  first  general  solicitor  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
The  new  Premier  was  beset  by  perplexities  in  meeting 
the  conflicting  claims  of  some  of  the  Conservative  lead- 
ers. Van  Home  helped  to  prevent  a  breach  with  Sir 
Hector  Langevin  and  paved  the  way  for  reconciling 
Chapleau,  the  other  representative  of  Quebec,  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  only  cabinet  office  that  Abbott  felt 
able  to  give  him.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Patterson,  Ab- 
bott's chief  lieutenant  in  Ontario,  suggesting  the  line 
of  approach  to  Chapleau,  which  showed  that  he  was  not 
altogether  destitute  of  the  wily  arts  of  the  diplomatist 
and  the  politician. 

A  letter  which  at  about  the  same  time  Van  Home 
found  necessary  to  write  to  William  Whyte,  the  com- 
pany's general  superintendent  at  Winnipeg,  is  of  a  dif- 
ferent order,  being  thoroughly  characteristic  in  its  posi- 
tive and  racy  bluntness.  Sir  Donald  Smith,  who  was 
the  governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was  seek- 


196     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

ing  to  secure  the  services  of  that  energetic  official  to 
revitalize  his  moribund  company. 
Van  Home  wrote  Whyte  as  follows : 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  one  of  the  most  hidebound 
concerns  in  existence.  The  London  board  is  a  collection  of  per- 
nickety and  narrow-minded  men  who  don't  know  enough  about 
business  to  manage  a  peanut  stand.  .  .  .  There  are  two  or  three 
good  fellows  among  them,  but  they  don't  know  any  business,  and 
the  H.  B.  Co.  is  going  to  pot  in  consequence.  They  have  killed 
— ,  and  you  would  n't  fare  a  bit  better.  Sir  Donald  is  the  only 
one  in  the  lot  who  wears  a  hat  a  man's  size.  .  .  .  But  he  is  an 
old  man  and  wearing  his  life  out  as  fast  as  he  can.  He  may  be 
gone  in  a  year,  and  then  will  come  the  deluge  for  the  H.  B.  Co. 
.  .  .  Their  business  methods  are  all  wrong,  and  they  are  too  old 
to  change  them.  They  are  governed  by  tradition.  They  look 
upon  newcomers  in  the  concern  as  made  of  inferior  meat.  .  .  ." 

Whyte  decided  to  remain  with  the  Canadian  Pacific, 
and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  to  look  elsewhere 
for  the  men  who  have  since  transformed  that  ancient 
and  honorable  corporation  into  a  successful  merchandis- 
ing concern. 

A  more  serious  loss  than  that  of  any  operating  offi- 
cial was  impending.  Stephen,  who,  in  London,  had  kept 
his  finger  on  every  throb  of  the  company's  activities  and 
had  been  eminently  successful  in  securing  capital  at  a 
low  cost,  had  expressed  a  wish  to  retire  from  the  di- 
rectorate in  1890,  but  had  been  dissuaded  by  Van  Home. 
He  felt  that  he  could  now  withdraw  with  good  grace, 
for,  he  wrote,  "to-day  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
stands  higher  in  credit  and  in  the  confidence  of  the 
British  public  than  any  other  Colonial  or  American 
Railway." 

'Tor  the  last  twelve  years,"  he  wrote  again,  "I  have 
hardly  had  a  thought  for  anything  else,  and  I  hope  I 
can  now  fairly  claim  to  be  relieved.  If  my  nature  and 


Lord  Mountstephen's  Peerage  197 

temperament  were  different,  I  might  continue  to  be  a 
member  of  the  Board  .  .  .  without  concerning  myself 
very  much  about  the  affairs  of  the  Company,  but  that 
is  an  impossible  position  for  me,  made  as  I  unfortunately 
am,  and  I  must  ask  you  to  let  me  out.  .  .  .  Night  and 
day  I  have  been  unable  to  think  of  anything  but  C.  P.  R. 
affairs,  and  it  will  be  so  to  the  end,  so  long  as  I  am  in 
any  way  officially  connected  with  the  Company." 

This  cogent  appeal  was  met  by  so  strong  a  protest 
from  Van  Home  that  Stephen  was  finally  prevailed 
upon  to  remain  on  the  board  for  another  twelve  months. 

The  birthday  honours  for  the  year  included  his  ele- 
vation to  the  peerage  of  Great  Britain,  and  he  assumed 
the  title  of  Baron  Mountstephen.  Public  opinion  in 
Canada  regarded  the  title  as  further  recognition  of  his 
devoted  work  in  building  the  Canadian  Pacific,  but  a 
section  of  the  Liberal  press  ascribed  it  to  the  British 
government's  gratification  in  the  result  of  the  Canadian 
election  and  the  part  played  therein  by  Van  Home, 
who,  it  was  assumed  erroneously,  had  been  inspired  by 
Stephen. 

The  new  peer's  view  was  different.  "It  has  been 
given  rather  as  an  incentive  than  a  reward,"  he  wrote. 
The  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  in  offering  the  peerage,  had 
expressly  stated  that  his  knowledge  of  Canadian  and 
American  affairs  would  make  his  assistance  valuable 
when  questions  concerning  North  America  came  up  at 
Westminster.  "In  short,  the  Government  thinks  I  may 
be  of  use  to  them  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  that  is 
the  reason  why  I  am  made  a  peer." 

Whether  as  incentive  or  reward,  a  titular  honour  was 
being  offered  at  the  time  to  Van  Home.  In  the  autumn 
of  1890  he  had  been  asked  by  Sir  John  Macdonald  to 
accept  knighthood.  Although  he  had  become  a  natural- 


198     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

ized  citizen  of  Canada,  he  had  not,  ipso  facto,  as  the 
law  then  stood,  become  a  British  citizen.  Moreover,  he 
was  exceedingly  democratic  in  his  attitude  to  titular 
distinctions,  and  he  hesitated  to  accept.  But  upon  the 
urging  of  Sir  Donald  Smith,  he  finally  decided  to 
do  so.  He  did  not,  however,  wish  the  knighthood  in 
any  way  to  hamper  his  liberty,  and  in  his  letter  of  ac- 
ceptance he  expressly  stated,  "I  would  not  like  such  an 
honour  to  come  to  me  merely  because  of  my  position  as 
president  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company." 
Shortly  afterwards,  however,  he  insisted  that  the  matter 
should  be  dropped,  lest  it  should  be  connected  in  the 
public  mind  with  the  ensuing  general  election. 

Before  the  close  of  1891  knighthood  was  again  of- 
fered him  by  Lord  Stanley,  the  Canadian  Governor- 
General.  But  again  it  had  to  be  deferred,  Van  Home 
considering  it  "inexpedient  for  the  present  and  may  be 
for  several  years  to  come."  The  cause  of  his  second 
rejection  of  the  honour  was  his  belief  that  attacks  on  the 
Canadian  Pacific  were  to  be  renewed  in  the  immediate 
future  at  Washington,  and  that  he  would  be  stronger 
in  defending  Canadian  interests  there  without  such  a 
special  mark  of  royal  favour. 

Postponing  thus  indefinitely  the  honour  which  was 
seeking  him,  Van  Home  was  taking  a  livelier  interest 
in  promoting  the  erection  of  a  new  hotel.  The  hotels 
in  the  Rockies  had  proved  to  be  profitable  investments. 
He  now  desired  to  make  the  old-world  charm  of  Quebec 
as  favourably  known  to  travelers  as  the  glorious  scenery 
of  Banff  and  Lake  Louise. 

He  had  decided  upon  the  old  parliament  grounds  at 
Quebec  as  a  site,  and  while  he  was  asking  his  friends 
to  support  the  new  venture,  he  was  planning  the  setting 
of  the  structure.  It  was  a  period  of  extravagant  and 


Around-the-World  Tour  199 

vulgar  ornamentation  in  hotel  architecture,  and  in  a 
letter  to  Lord  Mountstephen  he  summed  up  his  ideas 
of  a  hostelry  where  everything  was  to  make  for  com- 
fort and  simplicity.  He  would  not  throw  money  away 
on  "marble  and  frills,"  he  wrote,  but  would  "depend  on 
broad  effects,  rather  than  ornamentation  and  detail. 
...  I  am  planning  to  retain  the  old  fortifications  and 
to  keep  the  old  guns  in  place,  setting  the  hotel  well  back 
from  the  face  of  the  hill  so  as  to  afford  ample  room 
for  a  promenade,  and  I  think  it  will  be  the  most  talked- 
about  hotel  on  this  continent." 

His  expectation  was  realized.  When  his  plans  had 
been  carried  out,  the  Chateau  Frontenac  rose,  like  a 
stately  French  chateau,  above  the  quaint  old  town  of 
Quebec,  and  was,  for  a  time,  the  most  talked-about  hotel 
on  the  continent. 

Acceptance  from  the  hands  of  its  builders  of  the 
third  of  the  company's  Pacific  steamships  gave  him 
another  opportunity  to  turn  his  ingenuity  to  account. 
He  advertised  a  round-the-world  tour  on  the  "Empress 
of  India/'  sailing  from  London,  via  Bombay  and  Hong 
Kong,  to  Vancouver ;  the  tourists  to  return  to  London  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  and  Canadian  ships  on 
the  Atlantic. 

As  the  first  tour  of  the  world  by  steamships,  and 
under  the  direction  of  a  single  company,  the  venture 
was  heartily  acclaimed  by  transportation  men  as  a 
great  scheme.  It  proved  a  complete  success.  Van 
Home  was  at  the  dock  to  meet  her  when  the  "Empress 
of  India"  steamed  into  Vancouver  with  a  full  cabin- 
passenger  list  of  tourists  and  hundreds  of  Chinese  cool- 
ies, and  with  the  third  distinct  freight  cargo  of  her 
voyage. 

"Remarkable!"   commented  Chauncey  Depew  upon 


aoo     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

this  feat  of  his  fellow  railroader.  "Don't  talk  of  profits, 
even  if  they  did  run  into  thousands.  The  trip  itself  is 
worth  half  a  million  dollars  in  advertising  to  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

1892.       ENCOURAGING    FARMERS    AND    RAISING    THE 

PRICE    OF    WHEAT.      THE    GRAND    TRUNK    SEEKS    AN 

ALLIANCE.      THE     INTERCOLONIAL     AND     ATLANTIC 

STEAMSHIP  SERVICE.       MOUNTSTEPHEN   RESIGNS. 

THE  flow  of  settlers  into  the  prairies  had  been 
disappointingly  small  during  the  eighties,  but 
the  West  had  traveled  a  long  way  from  the 
wilderness  of  1881.  Abundant  harvests  rewarded  the 
farmers  in  1890  and  1891,  and  aroused  eastern  Cana- 
dians to  the  opportunities  knocking  at  their  doors. 
It  seemed  clear  to  Van  Home  that  the  country's  pro- 
ductiveness would  speedily  outgrow  the  limits  of  the 
company's  transportation  system. 

"The  spout  is  too  small  for  the  hopper !"  he  exclaimed 
to  a  colleague,  as  he  discussed  the  need  of  western  ex- 
tensions; and  these  he  urged  strongly  upon  Mount- 
Stephen,  whose  task  it  was  to  find  the  necessary  capital. 

"I  feel  sure  you  will  agree  with  me,"  he  wrote,  "that 
our  future  is  mainly  in  the  Northwest;  that  we  must 
neglect  nothing  in  holding  and  developing  it;  and  that 
everything  in  the  East  must  be  secondary  to  it.  ...  I 
would  rather  postpone  all  of  these  than  neglect  anything 
in  the  Northwest." 

While  he  was  interesting  himself  in  the  development 
of  the  Northwest  to  a  degree  that  it  would  scarcely 
have  credited,  that  section  of  the  country  was  com- 
plaining loudly  of  high  rates  and  inadequate  service. 
Remembering  the  struggles  and  hardships  of  the  early 


201 


2O2     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

settlers,  Van  Home  endeavoured  to  meet  their  wants  in 
every  possible  way,  but  in  the  matter  of  rates  he  could 
do  nothing.  The  railway  was  existing  on  too  small  a 
margin.  His  effort  to  secure  land  en  bloc  and  have  it 
subdivided  to  admit  of  farms  grouped  around  a  central 
village  and  green  had  failed.  Nor  could  he  persuade 
the  authorities  at  Ottawa  to  accept  any  modification  of 
the  scheme  designed  to  bring  relief  to  "the  woman  who 
eats  out  her  soul  in  her  loneliness." 

"I  failed,"  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Rudyard  Kipling, 
"to  induce  the  Canadian  Government  to  adopt  this  plan 
because  such  a  thing  had  never  been  done  before — 
which,  as  you  know,  is  a  conclusive  reason  with  govern- 
ments." 

Within  the  limits  of  his  authority,  however,  Van 
Home  never  allowed  himself  to  be  handicapped  by  red 
tape.  Live  stock  in  the  Northwest  was  generally  of 
an  inferior  quality.  He  steadily  encouraged  the  few 
pioneer  breeders  who  were  trying  to  improve  it,  and  in 
order  to  raise  the  standard,  he  ordered  the  purchase 
and  free  distribution  to  responsible  farmers  of  one  hun- 
dred pure-bred  Shorthorn  bulls  and  as  many  pure-bred 
hogs.  He  encouraged  also  the  establishment  of  agricul- 
tural fairs  and  exhibitions  in  Manitoba  by  free  carriage 
on  the  railway  of  all  exhibits. 

On  behalf  of  the  farmers  he  crossed  swords  with  the 
grain-buyers  during  a  season  when  they  were  offering 
only  thirty-five  cents  a  bushel  for  wheat.  Such  a  re- 
turn for  their  toil  left  the  settlers  with  nothing  to  meet 
their  obligations  on  their  land  purchases  from  the  com- 
pany. They  were  discouraged,  and  were  being  com- 
pelled to  default  in  their  payments.  Stigmatizing  the 
grain-buyers  as  robbers,  Van  Home  adopted  a  sugges- 
tion of  L.  A.  Hamilton,  the  company's  land  commis- 


Raising  the  Price  of  Wheat  203 

sioner,  and  instructed  the  agents  of  the  company  to 
offer  fifty  cents  a  bushel.  The  price  of  wheat  immedi- 
ately rose  throughout  the  country,  and  before  the  crop 
was  marketed  the  directors  who  had  opposed  this  bold 
stroke  and  the  indignant  grain-buyers  had  considerable 
amusement  from  it.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  bush- 
els poured  into  stations  and  sidings.  A  car  shortage  en- 
sued, and  sacks  of  grain  were  stacked  up  beside  the 
stations  like  cordwood.  An  outcry  was  raised  in  the 
local  press  against  the  inadequacy  of  the  company's 
equipment.  Photographs  of  the  grain  congestion  were 
used  to  buttress  complaints  industriously  spread  by  op- 
ponents of  the  company.  Van  Home  resourcefully 
turned  these  photographs  to  the  profit  of  the  company 
by  ordering  them  to  be  widely  circulated  as  advertise- 
ments of  the  productiveness  and  large  crops  of  the 
Northwest. 

Since  the  settlement  with  the  government  of  the  land 
grant  question  in  1891,  and  the  determination  of  the 
area  of  selection  of  subsidy  lands,  Van  Home  felt  the 
most  pressing  need  in  western  development  to  be  a 
more  forceful  immigration  policy.  Already  the  harvest 
of  1890,  widely  advertised  throughout  the  continent, 
had  started  a  stream  of  homeseekers  from  the  United 
States,  where  crops  had  been  disappointingly  poor. 
Hamilton,  who  was  at  Winnipeg  and  had  charge  of 
immigration  matters,  came  down  to  Montreal  and  asked 
Van  Home  to  authorize  a  very  low  passenger-rate  to 
induce  more  of  the  homeseekers  to  come  in.  He  sug- 
gested one  cent  a  mile.  Van  Home  agreed,  adding 
warmly,  "This  is  something  I  have  looked  forward  to 
for  years.  If  that  rate  is  not  low  enough,  the  whole 
railway  equipment  is  at  your  service.  You  can  bring 
them  in  free." 


204     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Thereafter  free  transportation  was  actually  given  to 
hundreds  of  homeseekers  who  were  expected  to  influ- 
ence others,  and  the  cent-a-mile  rate  was  adopted  as  a 
general  policy.  Excellent  returns  soon  becoming  appar- 
ent, Van  Home  wrote  happily  to  Mountstephen :  "If  we 
get  the  stream  fairly  started  our  way,  it  will  become 
a  flood.  The  people  in  the  States  seldom  see  more  than 
one  El  Dorado  at  a  time." 

In  further  pursuance  of  the  same  policy,  he  urged  a 
reorganization  of  the  Canada  North- West  Land  Com- 
pany, as  well  as  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  land,  to 
precipitate  the  flood  of  experienced  farmers  from  east- 
ern Canada  and  the  western  States.  Mountstephen  had 
already  written  him  that  few  could  be  had  from  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  except  the  riff-raff  of  cities;  that 
farm  labourers  and  small  farmers  there  were  so  much 
more  comfortable  than  they  had  been  a  few  decades 
earlier  that  pioneering  in  the  Northwest  had  no  allure- 
ment for  them.  Mountstephen,  realizing  the  importance 
of  early  settlement  along  the  railway,  was  inclined  to 
be  gloomy  over  the  prospect.  But  Van  Home  was  as 
optimistic  as  Mountstephen  was  pessimistic,  and  he 
brought  Mountstephen  and  his  Montreal  colleagues 
around  to  his  views.  The  price  of  land  was  reduced, 
and  within  two  months  he  was  able  to  send  Mount- 
Stephen  returns  showing  that  the  stream  had  actually 
begun  to  flow. 

In  this  work  the  Manitoba  government  gave  him  ef- 
fective aid,  but  although  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
T.  M.  Daly,  a  Westerner  himself,  was  full  of  enthusi- 
asm and  good  intentions,  his  colleagues  in  the  Dominion 
cabinet  were  cold  and  indifferent  to  his  efforts,  and, 
fearful  that  American  settlers  would  be  propagandists 
of  annexation,  expressed  the  opinion  that  an  influx  of 


Land  Settlement  in  the  Northwest  20$ 

settlers  from  the  United  States  was  undesirable.  Nor 
did  the  settlers  greatly  assist  him.  At  a  reunion  of 
farmers  largely  opposed  to  the  Ottawa  government, 
which  they  still  conceived  to  be  the  bosom  partner  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  a  resolution  was  moved  which  set 
forth  the  great  hardships  of  western  farm  life;  enu- 
merated high  traffic  rates  among  their  major  grievances ; 
and  expressed  the  opinion  that  further  settlement  was 
undesirable  under  the  circumstances  until  the  country's 
wants  were  more  adequately  met. 

"What  this  country  wants  more  than  anything  else 
is  a  fool-killer/'  observed  Van  Home,  when  the  farm- 
ers' resolution  was  reported  to  him. 

His  efforts  to  promote  immigration  encountered  a 
greater  setback  in  widespread  damage  to  a  harvest  of 
bountiful  promise.  Some  of  the  later  settlers  grew  dis- 
couraged and  left  the  country.  Van  Home  remained 
resolutely  cheerful  and  optimistic. 

"I  have  not  the  least  fear  of  the  future.  I  regard 
it  as  certain  as  sunrise/'  he  replied  to  an  expression 
of  Mountstephen's  fears;  and  with  characteristic  in- 
genuity he  reminded  him  that  damaged  wheat  fed  to 
swine  yielded  more  money  than  the  grain  itself  would. 
And  of  the  depressing  attitude  of  the  government,  "I 
believe  we  will  be  able  to  build  fires  enough  to  make  the 
Government  take  some  active  step." 

With  two  exceptions,  the  company's  relations,  and 
consequently  his  own,  with  other  railways  had  steadily 
improved.  The  Wabash  Railroad  was  at  the  time  one 
of  the  railways  controlled  by  Jay  Gould,  and  the  Ca- 
nadian Pacific  had  an  important  connection  with  it  at 
Detroit.  This  road  Van  Home  now  discovered  had  all 
along  been  flirting  with  the  Grand  Trunk,  though  pre- 
sumably bound  in  common  interest  to  the  Canadian 


206     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Pacific.  Referring  to  its  relations  with  other  railways 
as  well  as  with  the  Canadian  Pacific,  he  pungently  de- 
scribed it  to  Mountstephen  as  "a  worn-out  prostitute 
among  railways,  and  I  am  afraid  that  no  amount  of 
enamelling  will  make  it  look  well  to  the  public."  Be- 
fore many  months  had  elapsed  he  had  made  arrange- 
ments for  a  connection  at  Detroit  with  a  rival  railway, 
the  Michigan  Central. 

Amicable  relations  were  being  established  with  the 
Grand  Trunk.  That  organization  had  experienced  a 
radical  change  of  heart  upon  the  retirement,  in  1891, 
of  its  general  manager,  Sir  Joseph  Hickson,  whose  ill- 
advised  policy  had  so  enhanced  the  difficulties  of  Mount- 
Stephen  and  Van  Home  in  the  eighties.  The  effect  of 
Sir  Joseph's  exit  was  strikingly  described  by  the  former. 

Hickson's  resignation  must,  I  fancy,  have  been  as  much  of  a 
surprise  to  you  as  it  was  to  me.  From  what  leaks  out  here  I 
suspect  he  found  it  too  hard  to  bear  the  reproaches  of  the  people 
here  (I  mean  the  directors)  for  the  utter  failure  of  the  policy 
of  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  the  author.  He  staked  everything 
on  the  chance,  which  he  regarded  as  a  certainty,  of  his  being  able 
to  bust  the  C.  P.  R.  and  so  giving  Tyler  and  his  "guinea-pig" 
colleagues  the  opportunity  of  stepping  in  to  help  the  Government 
by  picking  up  the  "bits"  of  the  C.  P.  R.  .  .  .  Meantime  the  op- 
erators in  G.  T.  R.  "chips"  are  very  unhappy  and  may  soon  arrive 
at  a  frame  of  mind  that  will  lead  them  to  ask  you  to  advise  them 
what  to  do  to  save  their  interest  in  the  "chips." 

This  forecast  proved  correct,  for  shortly  afterwards 
Grand  Trunk  shareholders  in  London  asked  Mount- 
Stephen  to  suggest  a  scheme  by  which  the  two  lines 
could  be  unified  and  worked  as  one.  'They  seem  to  be 
ready  for  anything  to  save  the  concern  from  wreck," 
he  cabled.  "Do  you  think  anything  possible?" 

Van  Home  suggested  that  Mountstephen  might  be- 


The  Grand  Trunk  Seeks  an  Alliance          207 

come  president  of  the  Grand  Trunk  and  modify  its 
wildly  reckless  and  ruinous  policy.  Mountstephen  re- 
jected the  suggestion  with  some  amusement,  remind- 
ing Van  Home  that  he  had  been  persuaded  to  become 
president  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  1880  on  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  to  have  nothing  to  do.  The  busi- 
ness regarding  construction  "was  to  be  done  at  St.  Paul 
by  Hill  and  Angus,  and  I  to  hear  nothing  about  it." 

Then,  for  the  benefit  of  those  consulting  Mount- 
Stephen,  Van  Home  put  his  finger  on  the  most  serious 
of  the  Grand  Trunk's  defects  in  operation — a  lack  of 
coordination  between  traffic  and  operating  officials — a 
lack  of  understanding  of  the  interdependence  of  every 
branch  of  railway  service.  He  defined  his  own  policy 
to  be  "to  make  one  train  earn  $1.50  a  train-mile,  rather 
than  have  two  trains  earning  $1.00  a  mile  each";  he 
considered  the  Grand  Trunk's  policy  to  be  the  direct 
contrary.  He  declared  himself  opposed  to  an  increase 
of  rates  on  both  lines,  which  was  then  being  advocated 
by  Grand  Trunk  directors  in  London  who  had  previously 
hurt  both  roads  by  their  reckless  rate-cutting.  Eventu- 
ally, however,  he  was  persuaded  by  Mountstephen  to 
agree  to  the  arrangement,  only  to  find  that  Sir  Henry 
Tyler  chose  the  day  before  the  advanced  rates  were  to 
become  effective  to  tell  his  shareholders  of  the  plan,  add- 
ing, "We  will  now  get  all  we  can  out  of  the  people  of 
Canada." 

Van  Home  immediately  wrote  an  indignant  letter  to 
his  colleague,  declaring  that  since  Tyler  "has  not  kept 
his  asinine  mouth  shut,"  he  will  never  discuss  railway 
business  again  with  Grand  Trunk  men  in  London;  he 
will  deal  only  with  their  manager  in  Canada.  He  com- 
pared Tyler's  remark  with  the  famous  ejaculation  at- 
tributed to  Vanderbilt,  "The  public  be  damned !"  which 


208     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

cost   American   railroads   so   much   public   confidence. 

Negotiations  with  the  enemy  were  not  yet  ended, 
however. 

"The  voting  control  of  the  G.  1\  R.,"  wrote  Mount- 
Stephen,  "would  hold  up  both  hands  for  almost  any  kind 
of  an  alliance  with  you  .  .  .  which  affords  a  reason- 
able prospect  of  better  results  from  the  working  of  their 
road." 

Mountstephen  plainly  showed  a  strong  desire  to  have 
Van  Home  undertake  the  operation  of  the  Grand  Trunk, 
and  the  latter  only  overcame  his  personal  desire  to  do 
so  because  he  believed  such  an  undertaking  would 
eventually  hurt  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

"It  would,"  he  confessed,  "be  a  matter  of  the  most 
intense  gratification  to  me.  ...  It  would  be  a  fitting 
termination  to  the  war  they  have  waged  upon  us  from 
the  beginning.  Our  victory  would  be  absolute — but 
profits,  not  pride,  should  govern  us." 

There  was,  however,  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
amalgamation  of  the  two  lines,  namely,  its  effect  upon 
the  people  of  Canada.  The  country  would  "take  fright 
at  the  practical  consolidation  of  its  two  great  railways," 
and  the  result  would  be  restrictive  legislation  of  a  char- 
acter similar  to  that  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act. 
Unrestricted  reciprocity  was  a  dead  issue,  and  politicians 
would  surely  seize  upon  the  consolidation  as  a  live  one. 
Two  financial  houses  in  London,  interested  in  both  com- 
panies, attempted  for  a  time  to  effect  a  union,  and 
rumour,  weaving  blindly  with  the  frail  threads  of  avail- 
able gossip,  soon  announced  that  the  Canadian  Pacific 
had  been  seeking  to  get  control  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  but 
had  failed.  This  report  Van  Home  was  able  to  deny 
with  a  clear  conscience. 

Another  opportunity  for  expansion,  which  appeared 


The  Intercolonial  Railway  209 

to  be  within  the  realm  of  practical  politics,  made  a 
greater  appeal  to  him  than  the  regeneration  of  the  Grand 
Trunk.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Canada  he  had 
cherished  the  dream  of  controlling  a  fleet  of  steamships 
on  the  Atlantic,  and  from  1888  the  subject  had  occa- 
sionally been  mentioned  in  his  correspondence  with 
Mountstephen.  The  Pacific  service  was  well  estab- 
lished, and  plans  were  under  way  for  its  extension. 
By  1892  the  necessity  of  an  Atlantic  service  for  the 
marketing  of  Canadian  resources  was  everywhere  ap- 
parent, and  Canadian  business  men  began  to  bring  pres- 
sure on  the  government  to  increase  the  available  ship- 
ping facilities.  Sir  John  Abbott  called  a  conference  of 
railway  and  steamship  men;  tenders  for  a  service  were 
asked  for ;  but  nothing  definite  was  done. 

Belief  was  growing  that  the  scheme  could  be  most 
successfully  financed  and  operated  by  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific. Former  antagonists  of  the  road  supported  this 
view.  Mountstephen  and  Van  Home,  however,  con- 
sidered that  their  company  could  not  undertake  the  en- 
terprise unless  it  was  assisted  by  a  satisfactory  sub- 
sidy from  the  government  and  by  being  given  control 
of  the  Intercolonial  line  from  St.  John  to  Halifax.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  one  of  the  serious  difficulties 
between  the  company  and  the  government  of  Sir  John 
Macdonald  had  arisen  through  the  latter's  failure  to 
secure  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  running  rights  over  that 
important  part  of  the  Intercolonial  system. 

The  Premier  was  inclined  to  let  the  Canadian  Pacific 
take  over  the  whole  road,  especially  because  its  operation 
burdened  the  government  with  a  serious  annual  deficit. 
This  would  have  been  approved  by  Mountstephen,  who 
assured  Van  Home  that  he  could  operate  the  road 
profitably,  although  no  government  could  do  so ;  and  the 


2io     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

profits  could  be  shared  between  the  government  and  the 
company.  Van  Home  could  not  at  first  accept  this 
view.  He  desired  control  only  over  that  portion  of 
the  road  lying  between  St.  John  and  Halifax.  Real- 
izing, however,  that  the  people  of  the  Maritime  Prov- 
inces probably  would  not  consent  to  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific having  exclusive  control  of  this  section,  he  sug- 
gested to  the  government  that  the  Canadian  Pacific 
should  be  given  control  of  the  line  between  St.  John 
and  Moncton ;  that  the  Grand  Trunk  be  given  control  of 
the  section  between  Quebec  and  Moncton ;  and  that  be- 
tween Moncton  and  Halifax  the  two  companies  should 
have  joint  use  of  the  line. 

As  the  year  advanced  both  the  government  and  the 
Maritime  people  inclined  more  favourably  to  the  idea  of 
Canadian  Pacific  control  of  the  Intercolonial  in  con- 
junction with  an  Atlantic  service.  The  press  spoke  less 
of  monopolies  than  of  the  advantages  accruing  to  a 
territory  developed  by  the  vigorous  policy  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  and  dotted  with  its  famous  hotels. 
Public  endorsement  of  such  a  plan  was  stimulated  by 
the  announcement  of  a  deficit  of  $700,000  in  the  year's 
operation  of  the  Intercolonial.  Van  Home's  own  atti- 
tude changed,  too,  as  he  considered  the  prospects  more 
closely.  Examining  the  Intercolonial^  figures  in  de- 
tail, he  wrote  Mountstephen  that  he  had  discovered  the 
cause  of  the  deficit  and  saw  how  it  could  be  remedied. 
He  expressed  himself  as  very  confident  that  with  no  in- 
terest to  pay  the  Canadian  Pacific  could  in  one  year  turn 
the  Intercolonial  deficit  into  a  profit  of  $500,000.  He 
now  became  anxious  to  take  over  the  road,  made  a 
trip  through  the  Maritime  Provinces,  and  returned 
enthusiastic  and  particularly  impressed  by  "the  advan- 
tages and  attractions  of  Cape  Breton,  of  which  we  had 


The  Intercolonial  Railway  211 

known  practically  nothing,  and  of  which  the  people  liv- 
ing there  know  very  little."  He  turned  immediately  to 
a  study  of  the  crops  which  could  most  profitably  be 
raised  along  the  line  of  the  Intercolonial  and  the  steps 
which  should  be  taken  to  develop  the  country  and  its 
resources.  He  visualized  another  "string  of  hotels/' 
to  bring  the  traveling  world  to  the  hidden  beauties  of 
the  Land  of  Evangeline  and  the  Bras  d'Or  Lakes. 

The  matter  had  made  such  progress  at  Ottawa  that 
the  Premier,  on  leaving  for  Europe  for  an  enforced 
rest,  informed  Van  Home  that  he  had  left  his  col- 
leagues, Sir  John  Thompson  and  George  E.  Foster,  em- 
powered to  frame  a  definite  agreement.  Van  Home  felt 
so  sanguine  that  he  began  to  plan  a  visit  to  England 
"to  look  into  the  advantages  of  its  different  ports  for 
passenger  and  freight  service."  Before  anything  could 
be  done,  however,  the  Premier's  illness  compelled  his 
resignation,  and  Sir  John  Thompson  succeeded  him. 
Months  went  by,  and  as  nothing  satisfactory  came  from 
negotiations,  Van  Home  was  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  neither  the  new  Premier  nor  his  colleagues  favoured 
the  proposal.  Gradually  all  talk  or  thought  of  the 
project  died  away.  The  Maritime  Provinces  remained 
"on  a  back  street,"  and  the  Atlantic  service  was  de- 
ferred indefinitely. 

In  the  autumn  the  even  surface  of  the  company's 
operations  was  disturbed  by  a  slight  ripple  of  trouble 
at  Washington.  The  American  government  complained 
to  Ottawa  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  carrying 
Chinese  immigrants  into  the  United  States  in  con- 
travention of  their  laws.  These  restrictive  laws,  how- 
ever, happened  not  to  be  agreeable  to  large  employers 
of  labour  in  the  Pacific  States,  who  were  anxious  to  get 
coolie  labour  whether  smuggled  or  not.  The  Chinese, 


212    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

entering  by  Canadian  Pacific  trains,  claimed  to  be  resi- 
dents of  the  United  States  who  were  returning  home. 
Washington  asserted  that  they  were  new  arrivals, 
brought  by  the  company's  ships  to  Vancouver.  Statis- 
tics were  furnished  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  to  show 
that  it  carried  more  Chinese  out  of  the  United  States 
than  it  brought  in,  and  to  this  defence  the  president 
added  another.  The  Canadian  Pacific,  he  averred,  must 
as  a  common  carrier  give  transportation  to  Chinese 
as  to  any  other  persons  who  presented  themselves  with 
the  price  of  their  fare.  The  onus  of  proving  these 
passengers  to  be  newly-arrived  Chinese  immigrants 
rested  upon  the  United  States  immigration  officers,  and 
not  upon  the  Canadian  Pacific.  No  exception  could  be 
taken  to  this  argument,  and  the  trouble  for  the  Canadian 
Pacific  ended  there;  but  Van  Home  derived  much 
amusement  from  the  incident.  He  chuckled  with  boy- 
ish delight  at  the  Chinese  puzzle  referred  to  the  Ameri- 
can officials:  groups  of  impassive  Chinese  coolies,  all 
dressed  alike,  with  tunics  and  queues  and  flapping  panta- 
loons ;  all  looking  alike  to  the  untrained  eye,  and  all  pro- 
fessing ignorance  of  English.  How  anyone  could  tell 
them  apart,  or  whether  they  had  been  six  weeks  or  six 
years  in  the  country,  was  beyond  his  power  of  guessing. 
The  difficulty  had  been  discussed  through  the  medium 
of  the  Ottawa  government,  and  the  American  Secretary 
of  State,  in  accepting  the  company's  explanations  and 
statements,  sent  a  letter  to  the  Canadian  government 
that  heightened  Van  Home's  amusement,  which  he 
straightway  shared  with  his  confidant  in  London.  The 
Secretary  of  State  said  that  he  fully  understood  that  a 
railway  company  of  such  high  standing  as  the  Canadian 
Pacific  could  not  be  guilty  of  such  irregular  practices, 
"and  then  he  proceeded  to  wade  into  the  Dominion  Gov- 


Lord  Mountstephen's  Resignation  213 

ernment  again  about  their  laxity — from  which  it  would 
appear  that  we  have  a  great  deal  better  reputation  at 
Washington  than  has  the  Government." 

It  was  now  a  year  since  Mountstephen's  last  request 
for  relief  from  his  duties  as  a  director.  Responsibility 
at  all  times  had  weighed  heavily  upon  him.  He  could 
not,  he  wrote,  "accept  positions  ...  as  a  figurehead 
and  give  myself  no  concern,  as  Sir  Donald  has  the  gift 
of  doing."  He  now  renewed  his  plea.  At  sixty-four 
he  was  not  only  anxious  about  his  own  health,  but  was 
solicitous  also  for  the  health  of  his  friend.  Frequently 
he  urged  Van  Home  to  throw  more  of  his  work  on 
other  shoulders.  Van  Home,  in  fact,  was  doing  so. 
Shaughnessy,  who  had  been  appointed  vice-president 
and  a  director  in  1891,  was  every  year  bearing  a  larger 
share  of  the  responsibility  of  administration.  But  it 
was  incompatible  with  Van  Home's  temperament  to 
relinquish  control  of  anything  for  which  he  was  re- 
sponsible. Even  if  he  were  differently  constituted,  the 
public  would  scarcely  leave  him  free,  for  in  the  public 
mind  he  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  had  become  synony- 
mous terms.  This  fact  was  less  apparent  to  him  than 
to  Mountstephen,  who  wrote: 

I  am  quite  sure  you  enormously  exaggerate  the  importance  of 
my  name  being  on  the  list  of  the  Board  of  Directors.  Ever  since 
I  retired  from  the  Presidency  I  have  been  especially  careful  to 
keep  my  name  out  of  sight  in  all  matters  coming  before  the  public, 
so  that  now,  as  regards  the  public,  my  connection  with  the  Com- 
pany is  almost  forgotten.  .  .  .  The  C.  P.  R.  has  now  reached  a 
position  that  makes  it  independent  of  all  merely  personal  sup- 
port. It  would  hardly  make  a  ripple  here  if  next  May  an  en- 
tirely new  Board  were  selected,  provided  you  continued  as  Presi- 
dent. The  interests  of  the  Company  are  now  so  completely  iden- 
tified with  your  name  alone  that  no  one  here  would  care  one  cent 
who  your  co-directors  were. 


214     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

The  future  success  of  the  railway,  Mountstephen  de- 
clared, depended  only  upon  the  increase  of  its  net  earn- 
ings. To  demonstrate  his  own  faith  in  its  future  he 
purposed,  before  his  retirement,  to  increase  his  holdings 
in  it  by  several  thousand  shares. 

Recognizing  that  he  could  no  longer  expect  Mount- 
Stephen  to  withhold  his  resignation,  Van  Home  was 
deeply  affected.  The  temperaments  of  the  two  men  had 
made  them  perfectly  complementary  to  each  other,  the 
caution  and  anxious  foresight  of  the  one  forming  an 
admirable  counterpoise  to  the  imagination  and  con- 
structive genius  of  the  other,  which  ever  impelled  him 
forward  with  restless  schemes  for  development  and  ex- 
pansion. With  a  humility  rarely  shown  by  him  in  re- 
spect of  anyone  else,  Van  Home  from  the  first  freely 
gave  Mountstephen  the  supreme  credit  for  the  success- 
ful establishment  of  the  Canadian  Pacific.  Skilled  as 
were  Shaughnessy  and  Clark,  Osier  and  Angus,  in  their 
respective  spheres,  it  was  to  Mountstephen's  guidance 
that  Van  Home  had  ultimate  recourse  when  he  was 
troubled  by  doubt  or  perplexity.  For  his  judgment 
and  high  character  he  had  the  most  profound  respect. 
He  had,  in  fact,  with  all  the  faith  and  warmth  of  his 
positive  nature,  placed  his  friend  on  a  pedestal  which 
the  other,  with  his  cool  weighing  of  values,  had  depre- 
cated more  than  once :  "I  know  well  how  far  I  am  from 
coming  up  to  the  ideal  you  have  allowed  to  creep  into 
your  mind." 

Van  Home  made  a  last  appeal: 

"You  have  been,  as  nearly  as  possible,  President  and 
Board  of  Directors  combined  right  up  to  the  present 
time,  for  we  have  been  substantially  governed  by  your 
views  in  all  cases,  however  much  everyone  here  may 
have  opposed  them.  Your  withdrawal  would  not  be 


Lord  Mountstephen's  Resignation  215 

the  withdrawal  of  a  Director,  but  of  the  soul  of  the 
enterprise.  I  am  speaking  most  seriously  and  in  abso- 
lute sincerity." 

When  Van  Home  finally  agreed  to  let  his  friend  with- 
draw, he  revealed  a  sensitiveness  which  he  rarely  per- 
mitted to  appear.  He  would,  he  wrote, 

be  unable  to  look  upon  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  the 
future,  with  you  out  of  it,  as  the  same  concern  as  in  the  past, 
with  you  in  it.  My  unhappiness  about  your  action  is  intensified 
by  a  feeling  that  I  have  unwittingly  or  through  some  misappre- 
hension had  something  to  do  with  it.  From  the  time  I  first  met 
you  I  have  never  for  one  minute  been  actuated  by  any  other  feel- 
ing toward  you  than  one  of  profound  regard  and  respect,  a  feel- 
ing which  has  grown  year  by  year.  ...  If  anything  has  led  you 
to  suspect  any  other  sentiment  on  my  part  at  any  time,  I  beg  that 
you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  let  me  know  what  it  was,  for  I  am 
more  distressed  about  this  than  I  have  ever  been  about  anything 
that  has  occurred  in  my  life.  Doubtless,  in  many  cases  in  the 
hurry  of  business  or  amidst  its  annoyance  I  have  been  inconsider- 
ate or  abrupt;  but  surely  you  must  have  known  where  my  heart 
was.  I  am,  I  hope  and  believe,  quite  incapable  of  anything  like 
disloyalty. 

Mountstephen,  by  cable  and  letter,  instantly  assured 
Van  Home  that  his  action  was  prompted  solely  by 
the  personal  necessity  of  relieving  himself  from  busi- 
ness responsibility,  and  that  his  withdrawal  would  not 
affect  the  public  or  the  company  any  more  than  his  with- 
drawal some  time  before  from  the  directorate  of  the 
Great  Northern.  But  no  reassurances  could  obscure 
the  fact  that  Mountstephen's  retirement  from  the  board 
was  a  most  regrettable  event.  For  several  years  after 
the  construction  of  the  railway  he,  and  to  a  less  extent 
Sir  Donald  Smith,  had  made  many  things  possible  for 
the  company  by  undertaking  obligations  and  carrying 
burdens  which  the  company  could  not  itself  undertake 


216     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

or  carry.  Many  desperate  chances  had  been  taken  in 
building  up  the  credit  of  the  company,  and  as  a  result 
of  the  bold  policy  it  had  been  forced  to  pursue,  it  had 
many  irons  in  the  fire.  The  high  standing  of  the  com- 
pany's securities  in  the  London  market  was  directly 
due  to  Mountstephen's  financial  ability,  and  if  the  finan- 
cier had  consistently  advocated  a  rigorous  abstention 
from  all  new  schemes  involving  additions  to  fixed 
charges  and  the  postponement  of  all  expenditures  that 
would  take  years  to  become  fruitful,  he  had  given  in- 
valuable assistance  to  Van  Home  and  the  Montreal  di- 
rectors by  the  most  skilful  and  economical  marketing  of 
the  securities  which  their  new  projects  made  it  neces- 
sary to  issue. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

1893.       COMMERCIAL       DEPRESSION.       STRENGTHEN- 
ING  THE    COMPANY'S    FINANCIAL   ORGANIZATION. 

J.     J.     HILL     AND     THE     DULUTH     AND     WINNIPEG 
RAILWAY. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  his  resignation,  Mount- 
Stephen  continued  to  assist  the  company  and  to 
keep  up  a  constant  correspondence  with  Van 
Home.     His  assistance  and  guidance  were  the  more 
necessary  because  the  whole  commercial  world  was  en- 
tering upon  one  of  its  recurrent  periods  of  profound 
depression. 

The  passage  of  the  McKinley  Tariff  had  seriously 
dislocated  the  whole  trade  of  Canada  with  the  United 
States.  In  1893  Australia  experienced  a  terrible  bank- 
ing crash,  which  was  followed  by  a  severe  stringency  in 
the  London  money  market.  The  extraordinary  silver 
legislation  of  the  United  States  had  brought  about  an  ap- 
palling state  of  affairs.  Many  American  railways 
passed  into  the  hands  of  receivers;  large  corporations 
closed  their  doors;  banks  were  failing  daily;  currency 
went  to  a  premium  and  could  hardly  be  obtained  at  all. 

Although  the  causes  of  depression  in  the  United 
States  did  not  prevail  to  any  great  extent  in  Canada, 
except  the  low  price  of  wheat  and  reduction  in  travel, 
they  could  not  fail  to  react  upon  the  fortunes  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  and  it  entered  upon  a  period  of  serious 
difficulty. 

To  prepare  for  such  a  contingency,  the  shrewd  and 

217 


218     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

far-sighted  Mountstephen,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
financial  friends  in  London  and  Van  Home's  cordial 
cooperation,  and  with  his  finger  on  the  pulse  of  the 
money  market,  had  for  three  years  past  been  strengthen- 
ing the  financial  position  of  the  company.  He  had 
formed  the  opinion  that  "the  big  mistake  all  American 
railways  have  made  is  in  omitting  to  make  proper  pro- 
vision for  finding  the  new  capital  all  railways  require. 
...  In  fact,  no  American  railway  that  I  know  of  has 
taken  proper  steps  to  build  up  a  high  credit,  and  the 
result  is  that  when  they  go  into  a  new  expenditure  they 
borrow  the  money  for  six  to  twelve  months  at  high 
interest,  and  in  the  end  pile  up  a  floating  debt  which 
destroys  their  credit  and  compels  them  to  sell  securities 
at  ruinous  rates."  He  and  his  London  supporters  had 
been  particularly  anxious  to  have  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  organization  adapted  to  English  methods  be- 
fore his  resignation,  in  order  to  secure  it — in  their  be- 
lief— against  any  storm  that  might  threaten  the  Ameri- 
can railway  world. 

With  Mountstephen's  desire  to  fashion  the  company's 
financial  structure  upon  the  English  plan  Van  Home  en- 
tirely agreed — the  more  readily  because  most  of  the 
company's  capital  requirements  were  being  supplied 
from  London.  To  any  suggestion,  however,  that  the 
administrative  organization  of  the  company — the  per- 
sonnel and  scope  of  the  executive  committee  of  directors 
and  the  powers  of  the  shareholders — should  conform  to 
English  practice,  he  resolutely  objected. 

"The  English  practice,"  he  wrote,  "is  doubtless  good 
enough  in  England,  but  it  will  not  do  here." 

The  American  practice  which  he  had  introduced  into 
Canada  might  seem  loose  and  unsystematic  to  English 
eyes,  but  with  the  Grand  Trunk  and  its  English  system 


Methods  of  Financing  Railways  219 

as  both  an  illustration  and  a  warning,  he  rebelled  against 
a  change,  and  Mountstephen  agreed  with  him.  Van 
Home  conceded,  however,  that  the  English  system  of 
financing  railways  was  "as  far  superior  to  the  American 
as  the  English  system  of  working  is  inferior  to  the 
American." 

In  pursuance  of  Mountstephen's  policy  the  company 
had  issued  consolidated  debenture  stock  in  lieu  of  bonds, 
and  power  was  taken  to  issue  preferred  stock.  But 
when,  with  a  view  to  removing  the  company's  stock 
completely  from  American  speculative  influences, 
Mountstephen  proposed  its  conversion  into  registered 
sterling  stock,  the  placing  of  most  of  this  stock  in  the 
hands  of  permanent  English  investors,  and  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  New  York  register  and  transfer  office,  Van 
Home  again  differed  from  him  and  objected  to  the 
sweeping  nature  of  the  proposals.  He  argued  that  the 
closing  of  the  New  York  register  and  the  conversion  of 
all  shares  to  sterling  stock  would  practically  stop  all 
dealings  and  interest  in  the  railway  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  where  several  Dutch  and  other  shareholders  had 
large  holdings,  and  that  however  desirable  the  scheme 
might  be  from  the  viewpoint  of  English  investors,  it 
could  not  be  carried  out  without  harm  to  the  company. 
This  argument  prevailed. 

Mountstephen  was  right  in  his  assertion  that  the 
public  would  not  be  affected  in  the  least  by  his  retire- 
ment from  the  board,  but  its  announcement  gave  rise  to 
two  short-lived  rumours  concerning  Van  Home.  One 
alleged  that  Mountstephen  had  resigned  because  he  did 
not  relish  the  task  of  finding  money  for  so  extravagant 
a  management,  and  the  other  that  he  had  retired  be- 
cause Van  Home  had  acquired  an  American  line  with- 
out his  knowledge. 


22O     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

In  the  first  case  Mountstephen's  rebuke  to  the  im- 
aginative narrator  was  so  pointed  that  Van  Home,  al- 
though he  had  been  annoyed  personally  and  feared  the 
effect  of  such  a  rumour  on  an  already  delicate  market, 
wrote  in  his  favour  to  Mountstephen,  "I  trust  that  you 

will  say  nothing  further  to  Mr. about  the  matter. 

.  .  .  He  is  in  great  distress,  and  I  think  he  has  had  a 
sufficient  lesson." 

The  second  rumour  had  reference  to  Van  Home's 
strategic  move  in  acquiring  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg 
line  as  a  feeder  to  the  South  Shore  line. 

Prior  to  the  acquisition  by  the  company,  in  1890,  of 
control  of  the  "Soo"  and  South  Shore  lines,  Mount- 
Stephen  had  calculated  upon  Hill  securing  them  and 
maintaining  a  close  traffic  arrangement  with  the 
Canadian  Pacific  at  the  Sault.  When,  however,  Hill 
had  backed  out  of  his  promise  to  take  over  the  lines  and 
they  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  Hill 
showed  no  disposition  to  use  them  for  his  eastbound 
freight  and  began  building  the  Great  Northern  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  These  developments  spelled  danger.  The 
alternative  to  cooperation  was  necessarily  an  active 
competition,  and  Van  Home  believed  that  not  even 
Mountstephen's  important  share  in  financing  the  Great 
Northern  would  be  able  to  save  them  from  a  contest. 
To  settle  his  doubts,  he  had  met  Hill  in  New  York  in 
1890  and  discussed  a  permanent  and  peaceful  traffic 
arrangement  with  Hill's  road,  which  since  the  beginning 
had  been  treated  as  a  friendly  connection  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  in  Manitoba  and  at  St.  Paul.  He  left 
the  meeting  convinced  of  Hill's  unfriendly  intentions 
for  the  future,  but  with  a  genuine  admiration  for  his 
strategical  ability.  Hill  was  not  only  dextrously  get- 
ting out  of  any  existing  arrangement  or  understanding 


J.  J.  Hill  and  the  "Soo"  Lines  221 

for  interchange  of  traffic  at  the  Sault,  but  would  com- 
mit himself  to  no  definite  agreement  for  the  future. 

"His  diplomacy  is  admirable,"  wrote  Van  Home  to 
Mountstephen.  "I  never  admired  him  so  much  as  on 
this  occasion.  ...  He  is,  of  course,  entitled  to  all  the 
advantage  he  can  get  out  of  the  situation.  His  course 
in  the  matter  is  precisely  that  which  I  should  take  if  I 
were  in  his  place;  so  I  don't  complain  of  it  at  all." 

His  admiration  of  Hill's  diplomacy  was  changed  to 
anger  when  he  heard  that  Hill's  eastern  traffic  arrange- 
ments were  favouring  other  roads  than  the  struggling 
"Soo"  lines,  and  that  he  was  endeavouring  to  secure  a 
connection  with  the  Calgary  and  Edmonton,  which  was 
being  operated,  though  not  owned,  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific.  He  was  exasperated,  also,  by  learning  that  Hill 
was  contemplating  a  raid  upon  the  Kootenay  country  in 
the  heart  of  British  Columbia's  mining  regions  and  the 
construction  of  a  line  in  British  Columbia  which  would 
run  to  New  Westminster,  a  few  miles  distant  from  Van- 
couver. Both  of  these  regions  were  Canadian  Pacific 
"territory,"  and  a  Great  Northern  spur  to  New  West- 
minster would  seriously  cut  into  the  Canadian  Pacific's 
eastbound  traffic  of  American  freight  carried  by  its 
Pacific  steamships. 

"I  am  annoyed  and  disgusted,"  wrote  Van  Home  in 
February,  1891,  "at  his  shuffling,  his  evasion,  and  his 
meaningless  fine  talk.  He  is  not  building  a  line  down 
the  Sound  to  New  Westminster  because  he  loves  us." 

Hill  now  amiably  suggested  that  the  Canadian  Pacific 
might  connect  with  his  New  Westminster  branch.  Van 
Home  interpreted  the  suggestion  as  showing  a  desire 
for  business  between  the  two  roads  until  Hill's  own 
main  line  was  completed  from  the  East. 

"Then  he  will  knife  us,"  he  commented  curtly,  and 


222     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

proceeded  to  plan  retaliation  in  advance.  "Our  course 
is  simple  enough.  We  must  push  on  the  Cheyenne 
branch  of  the  Minnesota  and  Pacific  ...  so  that  we 
may  have  a  line  from  St.  Paul  to  the  Pacific  as  short  as 
his." 

The  Minnesota  and  Pacific  was  a  part  of  the  "Soo" 
system,  and  it  was  soon  started  on  its  way  westward  to 
the  border  in  a  race  with  the  Great  Northern.  Van 
Home  was  determined  to  match  Hill's  efforts  and  neu- 
tralize his  weapons  of  attack.  The  "Soo"  extension 
would  connect  with  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
at  Moosejaw,  and  Van  Home  planned  to  build  a  new 
line  from  that  point  through  Macleod  and  the  Crow's 
Nest  Pass  to  connect  with  a  series  of  lines  which  would 
traverse  British  Columbia  just  above  the  boundary. 
These  operations  would  not  only  afford  one  of  the  short- 
est and  most  advantageous  routes  from  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
apolis, and  Chicago  to  the  Pacific  coast ;  they  would  also 
furnish  the  Canadian  Pacific  with  an  alternative  line 
through  the  Rockies  of  lighter  grade  than  the  main  line, 
guard  it  against  invasion  by  Great  Northern  spurs,  and 
enable  it  to  thrust  down  to  the  traffic  centre  of  Spokane, 
cutting  into  Hill's  territory  as  he  planned  to  cut  into 
that  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Vancouver.  The  extension  could  be  used  as  a  club 
against  both  the  Great  Northern  and  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific, if  either  of  those  roads  should  deal  unfairly  with 
the  "Soo"  lines.  He  also  planned  to  put  up-to-date 
steamers  as  soon  as  possible  on  Puget  Sound  and  add  to 
the  Great  Lakes  fleet. 

"These  things  done,"  he  declared,  "we  need  not  fear 
Hill  or  anybody  else;  we  can  boss  him  and  the  N.  P. 
alike." 

A  letter  from  Van  Home  describes  the  mental  effect 


J.  J.  Hill  and  the  "Soo"  Lines  223 

upon  him  of  a  typical  interview  with  Hill,  who  had  a 
very  remarkable  and  Oriental  method  of  negotiating, 
talking  for  hours  away  from  the  subject  about  which 
a  man  might  have  crossed  a  continent  to  see  him. 

"I  tried  to  bring  it  [the  subject  of  his  visit]  up  before 
leaving  St.  Paul,  but  he  'broke  through  the  ice/  or  some- 
thing equivalent  to  it,  and  he  didn't  get  out  until  my 
train  left ;  indeed,  he  ran  along  the  station-platform  for 
a  car-length,  hanging  on  to  the  rail  to  complete  his 
story.  I  don't  know  what  it  was  all  about.  I  was 
dizzy." 

Hill  was  in  London  when  Mountstephen  received  this 
letter,  occupied  with  the  financing  of  the  Great  Northern, 
and  "talking,  talking"  to  Mountstephen,  who  reported 
that  he  also  had  had  "three  separate  sessions  with  Hill, 
during  which  he  talked  of  everything  except  the  main 
thing  in  his  mind." 

"I  need  hardly  say  to  you,"  Mountstephen  wrote  later, 
"that  my  relations  to  the  Great  Northern  can  never  by 
any  possibility  become  or  be  made  the  same  in  character 
as  my  relations  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which 
have  always  been  and  always  will  be  quite  apart  from 
all  pecuniary  interest  in  either  company." 

He  agreed  with  Van  Home  about  the  need  for  "safe- 
guarding the  interests  of  the  C.  P.  R.  at  every  point  and 
trusting  nothing  to  Hill's  goodwill,"  but,  aware  of  Van 
Home's  impulsiveness,  he  warned  him  against  losing 
patience  or  temper  with  Hill,  for  the  magnitude  of  the 
interests  affected  was  so  great  that  active  hostility  would 
be  unthinkable. 

"Strained  relations  may  be  difficult  to  avoid,  but  a 
rupture  would  be  disastrous,"  he  counselled. 

When  Hill  left  London,  Mountstephen  could  assure 
Van  Home  that  future  relations  would  be  more  pleas- 


224     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

ant.  The  financial  interest  of  himself  and  Sir  Donald 
Smith  in  the  Great  Northern  was  then  larger  than  Hill's, 
but  he  had  pointed  out  to  Hill  that  "whatever  our  inter- 
ests in  the  Great  Northern  might  be,  we  could  never  be 
against  the  C.  P.  R.  in  any  controversy  with  the  Great 
Northern  or  with  any  other  company,  that  we  were 
bound  to  stand  by  the  C.  P.  R.,  no  matter  at  what  cost 
to  our  private  interests."  But  Mountstephen  recog- 
nized that  Hill  "will  never  like  the  C.  P.  R.  or  be  able  to 
forgive  it  because  it  did  not  'burst'  as  he  thinks  it  ought 
to  have  done  ...  in  the  hungry  eighties."  Neverthe- 
less, he  thought  that  with  tact  and  a  good  stock  of 
patience  Van  Home  could  make  of  Hill  "a  reasonably 
good  neighbour." 

Mountstephen's  prognosis  proved  correct  to  the  extent 
of  a  suspension  of  hostilities  by  Hill  for  over  a  year, 
and  in  the  interval  the  mollified  Van  Home  could  agree 
that,  even  if  Hill's  hostility  did  break  out  again,  it  was 
based  on  a  very  human  feeling  on  his  part.  The  Cana- 
dian Pacific  had  won  through  to  success  largely  through 
the  monetary  weight  of  Mountstephen  and  Smith,  and 
their  fortunes  had  in  great  part  been  derived  from  Hill's 
road ;  yet  the  Canadian  Pacific  had  taken  all  the  western 
Canadian  traffic  his  road  had  once  enjoyed  and  the 
greater  traffic  he  had  dreamed  of  controlling. 

Notwithstanding  the  truce  that  was  understood  to 
exist,  word  reached  Van  Home  that  Hill  was  dropping 
threats  of  what  he  would  do  "when  the  time  comes  to 
pay  off."  Mountstephen  regarded  these  as  mere  out- 
bursts of  irritation,  but  Van  Home  was  profoundly  con- 
vinced of  the  contrary.  His  opinion  was  based  on  reli- 
able reports  from  his  own  and  other  railwaymen,  and 
he  resolved  that  if  Hill  raided  Canadian  Pacific  territory 
he  would  "hit  back  harder  than  Hill  expects." 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  22$ 

A  weapon  seemed  to  spring  to  his  hand  in  the  Duluth 
and  Winnipeg,  a  small  independent  road  running  north- 
westerly from  Duluth  toward  Winnipeg,  which  was  in 
serious  financial  trouble.  The  South  Shore  Line  from 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  Duluth  for  two  years  past  had  suf- 
fered from  the  unfavourable  conditions  of  iron-mining 
in  the  Marquette  district.  The  future  of  this  industry 
seemed  very  uncertain,  and  the  South  Shore  threatened 
to  become  a  serious  burden  to  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  would  bring  to  it  the  traffic 
of  the  new  mines  in  the  Missabe  and  Vermilion  ranges, 
and  although  few,  if  any,  realized  then  the  remarkable 
wealth  of  these  deposits,  Van  Home  felt  certain  that 
the  traffic  from  the  mines  would  be  a  valuable  asset. 
It  was,  moreover,  a  strong  defensive  weapon,  for  it 
could  readily  be  extended  into  the  Red  River  district, 
Great  Northern  territory,  to  threaten  Hill  if  he  menaced 
the  Canadian  Pacific  at  the  coast.  Hill  was  anxious 
to  control  this  line  himself. 

Negotiations  had  been  entered  into  with  the  owners 
of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  in  1891,  or  the  beginning 
of  1892,  but  nothing  had  come  of  them.  When  Mount- 
Stephen  came  to  Canada  in  the  summer  of  1892  Van 
Home  and  General  Thomas,  president  of  the  South 
Shore  Line,  discussed  the  desirability  of  its  acquisition 
with  him.  The  advantages  of  such  a  step  were  obvious, 
but  it  was  felt  that  the  acquisition  of  the  road  would 
entail  the  expenditure  of  much  more  money  than  was 
available,  and  the  proposal  was  indefinitely  hung  up. 
In  December,  however,  Van  Home  met  Donald  Grant, 
who  had  a  contractor's  interest  in  the  railway  and  the 
Missabe  iron  mines,  and  who  gave  him  such  infor- 
mation of  the  valuable  nature  of  the  property  as  deter- 
mined him  on  immediate  action.  With  the  authority 


226     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  the  executive  committee  of  the  board,  he  instructed 
Grant  to  obtain  control  if  it  could  be  done.  Grant  was 
successful,  and  a  fortnight  later  a  contract  was  made 
whereby  the  company  acquired  a  majority  of  the  stock 
of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  at  par.  Besides  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  completed  railway  and  twenty-five  miles  of 
grading,  the  purchase  gave  the  Canadian  Pacific  a  ma- 
jority interest  in  18,420  acres  of  iron  lands  on  the  Mis- 
sabe  and  Vermilion  Ranges,  as  well  as  in  14,350  acres 
under  mining  leases,  and  valuable  terminal  properties  in 
Superior.  It  appeared  from  the  information  given  him 
to  be  so  notable  a  property,  even  at  that  time,  that  Van 
Home  felt  very  happy  over  the  purchase  and  told 
Mountstephen  that  if  the  company  would  not  retain  the 
road,  he  would  feel  perfectly  content  to  take  it  over 
himself. 

Before  payment  for  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  stock 
had  been  made  Van  Home  learned  that  Hill  had  been 
quietly  taking  steps  to  get  possession  of  the  line.  The 
construction  company  of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  had 
a  large  floating  debt  and  was  in  serious  difficulties.  Ac- 
cepting a  short-term  loan  offered  from  St.  Paul,  suffi- 
cient to  tide  it  over  its  more  pressing  obligations,  the 
owners  were  dismayed  to  see  Hill's  engineers  ostenta- 
tiously surveying  a  line  alongside  and  ahead  of  the 
Duluth  and  Winnipeg.  About  the  same  time  they  found 
out  that  the  St.  Paul  loan  had  come  from  Hill,  and 
became  panic-stricken,  for  they  saw  that  the  survey 
would  prejudice  all  prospects  of  borrowing  new  money 
to  pay  off  the  loan.  Circumstances  plainly  indicated  an 
enforced  surrender  to  Hill.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
Donald  Grant  met  Van  Home  and  effected  the  deal  with 
the  Canadian  Pacific.  Hill  had  unwittingly  driven  the 
coveted  road  into  the  hands  of  his  rival. 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  227 

The  sum  of  $1,316,924  was  advanced  from  the  com- 
pany's treasury  in  January,  1893,  f°r  the  new  line  and 
its  properties.  A  small  additional  sum  also  secured  con- 
trol of  the  Mineral  Range  Railroad  as  another  feeder 
for  the  South  Shore  Line,  about  which  Van  Home  began 
to  grow  optimistic. 

"I  feel  sure,"  wrote  Mountstephen,  "y°u  have  done  a 
very  wise  thing  in  securing  the  control  of  the  Duluth 
and  Winnipeg  and  the  Mineral  Range  lines.  Their 
importance  to  the  D.  S.  S.  &  A.  .  .  .  is  very  great." 

Van  Home  wrote  Mountstephen,  pointing  out  the 
large  possibilities  of  the  property,  inasmuch  as  an  ex- 
tension of  the  line  would  put  the  Canadian  Pacific  "in 
a  position  to  open  fire  in  his  [Hill's]  rear."  He  felt 
that  an  effective  check  had  been  given  to  Hill's  threat- 
ened invasion  of  the  Kootenay.  His  letter  hardly  had 
been  written  before  Hill  cabled  indignantly  to  Mount- 
Stephen,  attacking  Van  Home  for  securing  control  of 
the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg.  At  the  same  time  he  threat- 
ened Van  Home  directly  with  a  boycott  of  the  South 
Shore.  Hill's  exasperation  was  the  greater  because 
he  had  been  on  the  verge  of  securing  the  Duluth  and 
Winnipeg  for  himself.  An  attachment  suit  had  been 
entered  against  the  little  road  for  the  amount  of  the 
loan,  although  it  was  not  due  for  two  months,  and  but 
for  the  help  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  its  directors  could 
not  have  met  the  demand.  The  intervention  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  staved  off  bankruptcy  and  surrender. 

As  a  solution  of  the  growing  difficulties  Mountstephen 
now  pleaded  for  a  perpetual  treaty  of  peace  and  good- 
will. He  suggested  that  Sir  Donald  Smith,  who  was 
closer  to  Hill  than  himself,  should  assume  the  role  of 
peacemaker.  Then,  if  Hill  still  boycotted  the  South 
Shore,  he  could  not  justly  complain  if  it  expanded 


228     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

through  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg,  in  order  to  bring 
in  the  traffic  he  refused  it.  Van  Home  was  eager  for 
a  friendly  arrangement.  He  would  discuss  anything 
except  a  change  of  ownership  of  the  Duluth  and  Win- 
nipeg, and  this,  his  intuition  told  him,  was  what  Hill 
wanted. 

Mountstephen  meanwhile  maintained  with  admirable 
fairness  and  disinterestedness  his  extraordinary  posi- 
tion toward  the  two  roads  and  the  two  men.  Failing  in 
his  attempt  to  secure  his  condemnation  of  Van  Home's 
purchase  of  the  Duluth  road,  Hill's  next  efforts  were 
designed  to  have  him  commit  the  Canadian  Pacific 
against  any  extension  of  the  little  line.  This  did  not 
agree  with  Van  Home's  plans,  for,  quite  apart  from 
any  desire  to  interfere  with  Hill,  he  was  contemplating 
short  extensions  of  the  road  to  secure  the  lumber  and 
iron  traffic  tributary  to  it.  These  were  the  logical  de- 
velopments of  a  road  still  unfinished;  but  with  these 
done,  if  Hill  would  not  interfere  with  Canadian  Pacific 
territory  and  rates,  Van  Home  declared  there  would  be 
no  further  need  of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  as  a 
weapon,  no  reaching-out  to  the  wheat-fields  in  Hill's 
territory  east  of  the  Red  River. 

"I  do  not  regard  it  quite  as  a  fault  with  him,"  wrote 
Van  Home,  "that  he  sees  nothing  but  his  own  property 
and  thinks  that  everything  in  the  world  should  be  sub- 
servient to  its  interest :  but  we  have  got  to  keep  an  equally 
sharp  lookout  for  the  property  that  is  entrusted  to  us." 

This  fair  and  reasonable  attitude  to  the  enemy  implies 
a  self-restraint  which  both  Hill  and  Van  Home  appear 
to  have  imposed  upon  themselves  out  of  regard  for 
Mountstephen  and  their  dependence  on  him.  The  blood- 
less contests  of  American  railway  barons  were  not  usu- 
ally marked  by  personal  rancour.  The  private  relations 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway          229 

of  Hill  and  Van  Home  were  those  of  friends.  Neither 
ever  visited  the  other's  home  city  without  paying  him  a 
long  and  friendly  call.  Van  Home  often  said  that  he 
would  rather  trust  his  personal  interests  to  Hill  than 
to  anyone  else.  But  when  their  roads  were  touched, 
friendship  gave  way  to  the  bitterest  antagonism.  Hill 
had  greeted  Van  Home's  decision  to  build  the  Lake 
Superior  section  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  with  an  angry 
outburst :  "I  '11  get  even  with  him  if  I  have  to  go  to  hell 
for  it  and  shovel  coal."  When  Van  Home  had  heard 
of  Hill's  intention  to  invade  the  domain  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  he  had  vowed  with  equal  intensity:  "Well,  if 
he  does,  I  '11  tear  the  guts  out  of  his  road/' 

In  February,  1893,  Van  Home  went  out  to  inspect 
the  new  property  and  to  meet  Hill.  Hill's  reply  to  his 
offer  of  friendly  negotiations  was  what  he  had  expected, 
namely,  a  sketch  of  a  road  he  was  going  to  build  east 
into  Duluth.  Bluff  or  threat,  it  evoked  from  Van  Home 
a  cool  agreement  that  Hill  was  of  course  free  to  do  this, 
but  that  when  it  was  done  the  South  Shore  Line  would 
have  "to  go  out  at  once  and  get  business  for  the  Duluth 
and  Winnipeg" — which  meant  extensions  into  Hill's  ter- 
ritory. 

The  interview  proving  fruitless,  Van  Home  entreated 
Mountstephen  to  look  only  to  the  interests  of  the  little 
road  and  the  necessities  of  the  country  it  served;  to 
"waste  no  time  trying  to  make  arrangements  with  Hill," 
but  at  once  to  reorganize  the  road  financially  and  then 
proceed  with  the  extensions.  It  was  a  straightforward 
business  policy,  as  well  as  excellent  railway  strategy 
and  one  that,  in  other  cricumstances,  he  would  have 
speedily  put  into  effect.  He  accepted  facts  as  they  pre- 
sented themselves  to  him,  convinced  that  the  Great 
Northern  had  no  fraternal  sympathy  for  the  Canadian 


230     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Pacific  and  that  the  latter  should  go  on  with  its  own 
development  with  as  single  a  mind  as  if  the  Great  North- 
ern did  not  exist.  Mountstephen,  on  the  other  hand, 
continued  to  argue  that  whatever  the  attitude  of  the 
two  roads  actually  was,  they  ought  to  be  friends.  He 
exerted  all  his  influence  with  Van  Home — and  it  was 
more  potent  than  any  other — to  avert  a  rupture  with 
Hill.  He  was  occasionally  moved  by  the  former's  argu- 
ment for  extension  unless  Hill  immediately  cooperated, 
just  as  Van  Home  many  times  swallowed  his  convic- 
tions and  stepped  aside  to  parley  with  Hill  because 
Mountstephen  wished  it. 

The  extensions  he  planned  and  submitted  in  March 
to  Mountstephen  were  to  be  built  in  order  of  advantage 
and  as  the  capital  for  them  could  be  obtained.  So  well- 
placed  was  the  new  property  that  these  extensions,  esti- 
mated to  cost  between  two  and  three  millions,  would 
make  an  important  railway  centre  of  Duluth  and  pro- 
vide a  large  amount  of  traffic  for  their  fleet  of  Lake 
steamers.  One  of  these  extensions  was  to  run  north- 
west to  Winnipeg,  and  a  second  through  the  wheat-fields 
of  the  Red  River  valley  to  a  connection  with  the  "Soo" 
line  north  of  St.  Paul.  Spur  lines  were  to  be  built  to 
the  most  productive  iron  mines.  But  although  the  finan- 
cial storm  of  1893  had  not  yet  broken,  the  failure  of  the 
Reading  and  other  American  railways  had  depreciated 
all  transatlantic  securities  on  the  London  market. 
Mountstephen  had  little  encouragement  for  the  proposed 
extensions,  and  no  progress  could  be  made. 

Another  meeting  took  place  between  the  contestants 
in  Montreal,  when  it  was  agreed  that  Van  Home  should 
draw  up  a  definite  basis  for  the  friendly  treaty  proposed 
by  Mountstephen  and  that  Hill  should  decide  how  far  he 
could  accept  it.  Van  Home  outlined  a  plan  which  was 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  231 

approved  by  Mountstephen  and  Smith,  but  it  was  not 
accepted  by  Hill.  Peace  seemed  distant.  In  June, 
1893,  the  opening  of  the  Great  Northern  to  the  coast 
was  celebrated  at  St.  Paul.  Here  again,  Van  Home, 
who  was  present  with  Sir  Donald  Smith,  endeavoured 
to  reopen  negotiations.  But  so  stoutly  did  Hill  protest 
against  any  extension  of  the  road  that  Van  Home  wrote 
with  conviction  to  Mountstephen,  "Mr.  Hill  is  gambling 
on  the  belief  that  there  are  enough  of  our  C.  P.  R.  friends 
interested  in  the  Great  Northern  to  'choke  off'  anv  ex- 
tension of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg."  Mountstephen 
conjectured  that  Hill  was  reversing  his  policy.  Having 
regretted  his  failure  to  take  over  the  "Soo"  lines  when  he 
had  the  chance,  he  had  now  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
could  not  prevent  the  South  Shore  extending  westward 
and  would  grin  and  bear  it.  At  the  same  time  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  consent  to  any  agreement  that  was 
likely  to  benefit  the  South  Shore  system,  no  matter  how 
great  might  be  the  advantage  of  such  an  agreement  to 
the  Great  Northern. 

It  was  now  rumoured  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  was 
hastening  plans  for  the  extension  of  the  "Soo"  to 
Spokane.  Meanwhile  the  Great  Northern  flung  down 
the  gauntlet  to  all  rivals  by  reducing  freight  rates,  and 
Van  Home  predicted  to  Mountstephen  that  this  action 
would  speedily  result  in  the  bankruptcy  of  the  Northern 
Pacific.  In  his  February  interview  Hill  had  forecasted 
this  as  a  result  of  the  Great  Northern  reaching  the  coast. 
The  vigorous  entry  of  this  new  giant  into  the  transcon- 
tinental field  was  felt  by  all  the  Pacific  lines.  If  the 
Northern  Pacific  suffered  more  from  the  reduction  of 
rates  than  the  Canadian  road,  the  latter  had  also  to 
complain  of  an  arbitrary  breaking  of  traffic  agreements 
and  the  withdrawal  of  ticket  reciprocity,  together  with 


232     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

a  blunt  refusal  to  carry  passengers  ticketed  to  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific's  steamers  to  the  Orient.  Summing  up 
these  evidences  of  Hill's  exhilarated  sense  of  power, 
Van  Home  wrote  Mountstephen,  "Mr.  Hill  seems  to  be 
like  a  boy  with  a  new  pair  of  boots  .  .  .  bound  to  splash 
into  the  first  mud-puddle  so  that  he  may  have  an  excuse 
for  showing  their  red  tops." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

1893-96.      THE  DULUTH  AND  WINNIPEG.      BUSINESS 

PARALYSIS.       FLOODS  OF  THE  FRASER.      APPOINTED  A 

K.  C.  M.  G.       MILITARY  MAPS.      A  GENERAL  ELECTION. 

THE    MANITOBA    FREE   PRESS. 

THE  struggle  between  the  two  roads  increased  in 
intensity,  "the  Great  Northern  fighting  furi- 
ously," but  neither  Hill's  rate-cutting  nor  his 
boycott  seriously  hurt  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  in  Au- 
gust Van  Home  could  report  to  London  that  "Hill  is 
decidedly  getting  the  worst  of  it."  The  Northern  Pa- 
cific, however,  went  into  a  receivership,  and  while  Van 
Home  was  expecting  a  renewal  of  hostilities  between 
it  and  the  Great  Northern,  Hill  was  getting  hold  of  the 
bankrupt  road  and  was  in  treaty  with  the  Morgan  house 
and  the  Deutsche  Bank  for  its  reorganization.  Before 
the  year  closed  it  was  in  the  firm  control  of  its  more 
vigorous  and  combative  neighbour. 

Failing  to  bring  the  Canadian  Pacific  to  its  knees  by 
a  traffic  war,  Hill,  who  was  now  a  commanding  figure 
in  the  railway  world,  turned  to  other  weapons  of  attack. 
He  tried  to  get  other  railways  to  join  him  in  the  boycott 
of  the  road  and  exerted  his  influence  at  Washington  to 
induce  Congress  to  revoke  the  bonding  privileges  ac- 
corded to  Canadian  railways.  And  not  disdaining  more 
questionable  methods,  instigated  the  insertion  of  attacks 
on  the  company  in  a  New  York  newspaper.  He  quickly 
dropped  these  weapons,  however,  on  receiving  a  mes- 
sage from  Mountstephen,  that  "anything  so  inconceiv- 

233 


234    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

ably  senseless  would  compel  me  and  my  friends  to  with- 
draw all  connection  with  the  Great  Northern  Railway." 

The  contest  now  began  to  die  out.  In  September  Hill 
intimated  his  desire  to  meet  the  other  transcontinental 
roads  and  reconsider  rates.  Van  Home,  who  could  now 
describe  the  Canadian  Pacific  as  "top  dog  in  the  fight" 
and  Hill  as  "getting  down  from  the  high  horse  he  has 
been  riding  for  two  or  three  years,"  refused  to  attend 
any  meeting  with  the  Great  Northern  until  that  road 
had  restored  rates. 

These  various  difficulties  reached  a  solution,  but  the 
Duluth  and  Winnipeg  remained  a  bone  of  contention. 
Returning  from  England  in  November,  Van  Home 
learned  that  Hill's  surveyors  were  prospecting  along  the 
line  he  had  indicated  to  Hill  as  the  probable  route  for 
his  extension.  He  met  this  move  at  once  by  ordering 
out  a  survey  party  to  secure  and  file  plans  of  the  route. 
He  negatived  a  proposal  from  Mountstephen  that  Hill 
be  allowed  to  purchase,  if  he  would,  the  rather  burden- 
some South  Shore  Line  and  this  coveted  Duluth  road 
with  it.  This  entailed  too  great  a  risk,  for  with  Hill 
once  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  the  Grand  Trunk,  already  at 
North  Bay,  would  soon  be  there  to  meet  him,  and  the 
company's  "Soo"  line  would  be  the  subject  of  fresh  con- 
tests. 

Setting  this  scheme  aside  as  undesirable,  Van  Home 
worked  out  a  plan  of  reorganization  of  the  Duluth  and 
Winnipeg.  With  the  reorganization  effected,  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  would  be  ready  to  build  whenever  capital 
became  available.  Mountstephen,  who  later  agreed  to 
extension  as  the  wisest  policy,  now  decided,  however, 
that  the  serious  financial  depression  prohibited  construc- 
tion of  any  kind,  and  Van  Home  had  perforce  to  wait. 
While  the  controversy  rested  there,  Hill  arrived  in 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  235 

London.  He  was  amicable  in  his  attitude  to  everything 
pertaining  to  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  particularly 
interested  in  the  soft  iron  ore  deposits  west  of  Lake 
Superior,  but  he  steadfastly  avoided  discussing  with 
Mountstephen  the  little  Duluth  road  which  tapped  this 
promising  region.  But  the  latter  so  persistently  pressed 
the  need  of  a  friendly  arrangement  between  the  two 
systems  that  he  left  with  a  definite  promise  to  draw  up 
a  new  basis  of  agreement,  as  Van  Home  had  once  done 
for  him. 

"I  have  told  him,"  wrote  Mountstephen,  "that  I  can- 
not and  will  not  do  anything  to  try  and  persuade  you 
to  accept  any  agreement  or  settlement  that  you  do  not 
think  to  be  in  the  interest  of  the  C.  P.  R.  Company,  or 
rather  the  South  Shore,  to  accept,  because  of  my  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  Great  Northern,  just  as  I  could  not 
ask  him  to  refrain  from  doing  anything  he  thought  good 
for  the  Great  Northern,  because  of  my  interest  in  the 
C.  P.  R." 

When  Mountstephen  came  to  Canada  in  June,  1894, 
Hill  met  him.  He  had  changed  his  mind  since  March, 
had  no  agreement  to  propose,  and  was  disinclined  to 
discuss  the  matter. 

"He  is  an  adept  at  wearying  out  an  opponent,"  wrote 
Mountstephen,  analysing  Hill's  "Fabian  tactics  of  de- 
lay." 

Van  Home  had  passed  the  stage  where  he  could 
analyse  his  rival's  policy.  His  patience  was  at  an  end, 
but  without  the  support  of  Mountstephen  and  Smith  he 
could  not  move  a  step  in  the  execution  of  his  own  aggres- 
sive policy  and  could  only  assent  to  Hill's  request,  on 
parting,  that  he  should  submit  a  fresh  proposition. 

"I  promised  to  do  so,"  wrote  Van  Home,  "and  then 
taking  me  affectionately  by  the  arm,  he  said,  'Van,  it  is 


236     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

a  very  nice  thing  that  although  we  disagree  about  busi- 
ness matters,  our  personal  relations  are  so  pleasant  we 
would  do  anything  for  each  other/  " 

He  had  kept  himself  severely  under  restraint  through 
this  interview  with  Hill,  for  he  was  inwardly  incensed 
at  the  "most  scandalous  and  false  statements  about  the 
C.  P.  R.  and  its  chief  officials/'  which  were  stated  to 
have  been  made  on  Hill's  authority  and  which  had  been 
repeated  to  Mountstephen.  He  could  not  hit  back  in 
view  of  the  peculiar  position  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  and 
of  his  own  friendship  with  Mountstephen,  who  pleaded, 
as  so  often  before,  that  "in  view  of  the  interests  at  stake" 
they  should  pass  the  matter  over  quietly. 

"We  must/'  he  wrote,  "brace  ourselves  up  to  ignore 
them  until  a  fit  time  arrives  for  letting  him  know  that 
we  are  aware  of  all  his  malicious  acts  towards  yourself 
and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway/' 

In  the  light  of  these  incidents  it  must  have  been  rather 
bewildering  to  Van  Home  to  receive  two  months  later 
from  Mountstephen  a  long  letter  exclusively  given  to 
praise  of  Hill,  his  economical  management,  and  unique 
devotion  to  his  road.  Mountstephen  had  just  visited 
St.  Paul,  where  he  found  the  Great  Northern  in  such  a 
satisfactory  condition  that  his  shareholder's  heart  nat- 
urally expanded  in  admiration  of  Hill's  financial  and 
administrative  ability.  Following  this  letter  in  August, 
1894,  Van  Home's  correspondence  with  Mountstephen 
reveals  a  decided  disinclination  to  touch  upon  the  Duluth 
and  Winnipeg  or  any  matter  in  dispute  between  Hill  and 
the  Canadian  Pacific.  The  plan  he  had  promised  to 
Hill  was  presented  in  due  course,  but  nothing  more  was 
heard  of  it ;  and  the  dispute  over  the  Duluth  and  Win- 
nipeg remained  unsettled. 

Extensions   of   any  kind  were,   indeed,   impossible. 


Hard  Times  237 

The  commercial  depression  of  1893  grew  more  severe  in 
1894.  Business  was  paralysed  over  the  whole  western 
half  of  the  continent.  Every  resource  of  the  company 
had  to  be  husbanded  to  maintain  its  credit.  Though 
suffering  less  than  American  transcontinental  lines,  it 
was  specially  affected  by  heavy  snowstorms,  an  abnor- 
mally low  price  for  wheat  which  caused  the  farmers  to 
postpone  marketing  of  their  crops,  and  unprecedented 
floods  in  the  valley  of  the  Fraser.  Large  stretches 
of  track  were  carried  away,  bridges  destroyed,  and 
the  roadbed  washed  out  of  existence.  Traffic  to  the 
coast  was  blocked  for  forty-one  days.  When  Van 
Home  rushed  out  to  the  scene  of  disaster  he  was  obliged 
to  complete  his  journey  over  the  Great  Northern. 
Reaching,  at  length,  the  flooded  district  and  seeing  the 
extent  of  the  devastation,  he  exclaimed,  "Hell!  This 
means  all  the  money  in  the  treasury  gone !" 

Macnab,  the  engineer  who  had  brought  him  there, 
stood  near.  He  spoke  up  loyally.  "Well,  sir,  we  '11 
run  the  road  whatever  comes."  And  twenty  years  later, 
he  added,  "Salary  or  no  salary  the  boys  would  have 
stood  by  the  Old  Man !  He  had  a  great  hold  on  us." 

Heavy  advances  had  to  be  made  to  protect  the  Soo 
and  South  Shore  lines,  which  caused  Mountstephen  to 
deplore  their  acquisition.  Van  Home  consoled  him- 
self, and  tried  to  console  his  friend,  with  the  assurance 
that  the  cost  of  holding  them  would  never  equal  what 
the  loss  would  have  been  had  they  passed  into  rival 
control.  Salaries  of  the  company's  officers  were  re- 
duced twenty  per  cent,  or  more.  In  many  places  one 
man  was  required  to  do  the  work  of  two.  The  bank- 
ruptcy of  the  Atchison  road  had  knocked  the  bottom 
out  of  the  investment  and  stock  markets. 

"A  dollar  looks  as  big  as  a  cartwheel,"  he  said,  har- 


238     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

assed  by  Mountstephen's  continual  expressions  of  fear 
and  exhortations  to  economy. 

No  sooner  was  one  ground  of  fear  and  criticism  ex- 
plained away  than  another  was  put  forward.  Van 
Home's  outlook  was  more  hopeful.  Canada  was  a  land 
of  such  natural  resources  that  its  people  could  meet  any 
conditions  whatever  and  "always  catch  up  in  a  year  or 
two." 

But  his  confidence  had  no  effect  on  the  money  market, 
and  quotations  for  the  company's  stock  continued  to 
fall  in  the  general  decline.  Nettled  by  incessant  criti- 
cism and  by  praises  of  Hill's  rigorous  economies,  Van 
Home  wrote  Mountstephen  in  November: 

I  have  been  comparing  our  figures  with  those  of  the  Atchison 
during  the  time  when  it  had  been  skimmed  down  to  a  point  which 
was  claimed  to  be  the  lowest  ever  reached  on  a  railway ;  and  I 
have  also  compared  them  with  the  Great  Northern  and  every 
other  line  that  is  supposed  to  be  operated  with  extraordinary  cheap- 
ness— and  I  find  that  notwithstanding  our  higher  cost  of  coal, 
our  expenses  were  less  in  our  most  extravagant  year  than  have 
been  those  of  any  of  the  other  lines  during  the  period  of  impend- 
ing receivership  when  they  resorted  to  every  expedient  to  save 
expenses.  This  does  not  imply  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  has  been 
skinned.  When  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  built  we  had  the  ex- 
perience of  all  the  railways  in  North  America,  and  were  able  to 
lay  out  the  entire  system  with  a  view  to  the  greatest  possible 
economy  and  convenience  in  working,  and  I  do  not  believe  that 
any  important  railway  in  the  United  States  can  possibly  get  down 
to  our  figures. 

Confident  that  business  would  revive  in  1895  and  that 
the  company  could  meet  what  he  called  the  "backwash  of 
the  panic,"  Van  Home  planned  to  take  a  few  weeks' 
rest.  The  strain  of  the  past  two  years  had  been  partic- 
ularly irksome.  Deprived  of  the  incentive  of  carrying 
out  new  schemes  and  developments,  he  had  had  to  sub- 


Knighthood  239 

mit  to  a  regimen  of  parsimonious  economy  which  was 
made  the  more  distasteful  by  the  continual  but  justified 
expressions  of  anxiety  concerning  the  company's  finan- 
cial position  which  reached  him  by  every  mail  from 
London.  He  decided  to  go  to  Europe  to  confer  with 
Mountstephen  for  a  few  days;  then  to  proceed  to  South- 
ern Europe,  where  he  could  refresh  himself  with  the 
works  of  the  great  masters  and  get  rid  of  some  bron- 
chitis which  troubled  him. 

The  year  just  closing  had  been  marked  by  royal  recog- 
nition of  his  services  to  Canada.  The  knighthood  of- 
fered to  him  in  1891  and  again  in  1892,  and  deferred 
at  his  own  request,  was  again  offered  and  accepted. 
The  Birthday  list  of  honours  announced  his  appointment 
as  an  Honorary  Knight  Commander  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Michael  and  St.  George. 

Although  appreciative  of  the  distinction,  Van  Home 
found  its  use  at  first  unpleasing.  As  he  walked  down 
to  his  office  on  the  morning  his  knighthood  was  an- 
nounced, he  was  accosted  with  congratulations  by  one 
acquaintance  after  another.  The  old  attendant  in  the 
entrance  hall  to  his  office,  who  for  years  had  greeted  him 
with  a  friendly  salute,  now  made  him  a  low  bow  with 
a  deeply  respectful,  "Good  morning,  Sir  William!" 
This  suggestion  of  servility  was  the  last  straw. 

"Oh,  Hell!"  he  muttered,  and  walked  hastily  away 
from  the  possibility  of  further  encounters. 

His  acceptance  of  a  knighthood  gave  colour  to  the 
assertion  that  he  had  lost  all  love  for  the  United  States 
and  was  now  to  be  counted  against  her ;  and  was  used  to 
bolster  up  attacks  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  and  the  bond- 
ing privileges.  On  March  14,  1896,  he  wrote  to  Charles 
Dana,  editor  of  the  "New  York  Sun,"  a  journal  that 
frequently  attacked  the  Canadian  Pacific : 


240     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

In  your  issue  of  yesterday  you  refer  to  me  as  "originally  an 
American  but  now  a  fierce  Tory  hater  of  all  things  American." 
I  protest  that  no  act  or  word  or  thought  of  mine  has  ever  justified 
such  a  statement.  I  am  as  proud  of  the  United  States  as  you 
are,  Mr.  Dana,  and  I  know  that  this  is  saying  very  much.  For 
many  years  I  have  been  entrusted  with  important  interests  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  and  I  have  done  my  best 
to  protect  and  develop  these  interests.  Would  you  have  me, 
even  as  an  ultra-loyal  American,  do  otherwise?  Pray  put  me 
down  not  as  an  enemy  of  things  American,  but  as  one  who  loves 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

He  considered  it  expedient  a  fortnight  later  to  send  a 
fuller  explanation  to  A.  C.  Raymond,  the  company's 
representative  at  Washington : 

Since  so  many  Americans  seem  to  think  that  expatriation 
should  only  work  one  way  and  since  my  own  case  is  frequently 
referred  to  in  attacks  on  the  C.  P.  R.,  I  would  like  you  to  under- 
stand the  facts  ...  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  explain  them  if 
need  be. 

The  Canadian  laws  in  this  regard  were  framed  with  the  object 
of  inducing  Americans  residing  in  Canada  to  take  part  in  public 
affairs.  They  are  not  required  to  forswear  their  allegiance,  as 
is  the  case  in  the  U.  S.  On  taking  an  oath  in  substance  to  ob- 
serve the  laws  and  "give  information  concerning  the  Queen's  ene- 
mies," they  become  entitled  to  the  rights  of  citizens  of  Canada, 
and  the  law  provides  that  on  their  return  to  the  country  of  their 
birth  to  reside  permanently,  they  shall  be  absolved  from  all  obli- 
gations under  the  oath  they  have  taken. 

In  short,  they  are  only  required  to  be  loyal  to  the  community 
in  which  they  have  come  to  reside  as  long  as  they  remain.  The 
most  ultra  of  the  Americans  here  have  seen  nothing  objectionable 
in  it,  and  nearly  all  have  taken  the  required  oath. 

The  title  conferred  upon  me  was  an  honorary  one.  In  this  I 
was  not  recognized  as  a  British  subject,  but  as  a  foreigner  who 
had  rendered  service  to  the  country.  My  title  is  "Honorary" 
K.  C.  M.  G.,  and  no  British  subject  has  ever  been  given  this. 
Two  dozen  or  so  Sultans,  Pashas,  etc.,  have  it.  I  would  have 
been  churlish  to  have  refused  it  in  this  form,  and  I  think  it  is 


Knighthood  241 

something  that  most  Americans  would  be  proud  of — indeed,  that 
they  should  be  proud  of  its  having  been  given  to  an  American 
as  an  American. 

Is  there  such  an  ass  in  the  U.  S.  as  to  think  that  an  American 
artist  would  be  un-American  in  becoming  an  Honorary  Royal 
Academician?  And  where  is  the  difference?  I  would  say  noth- 
ing about  this,  were  it  not  used  to  prejudice  the  interests  of 
the  C.  P.  R.  .  .  . 

Commercial  depression  was  still  grave  when  Van 
Home  returned  to  Canada  in  February,  1895,  and  for 
the  first  time  since  1883  the  company  was  compelled  to 
omit  the  declaration  of  a  dividend.  Mountstephen  felt 
impelled  to  counsel  his  friends  to  sell  the  stock  which 
he  had  advised  them  to  buy  in  more  propitious  days, 
and  it  fell  to  a  price  of  $35.  It  might  have  gone  lower, 
but  for  the  purchases  of  German  capitalists  who  were 
guided  by  one  of  Van  Home's  friends,  Adolph  Boisse- 
vain,  a  Dutch  financier  whose  firm  had  long  been  inter- 
ested in  the  company.  He  had  come  out  to  Canada  and 
spent  a  day  with  Van  Home  before  a  large  map  of  the 
country,  and  had  listened  to  him  while  he  sketched,  with 
a  positiveness  of  vision  that  many  regarded  as  inspira- 
tion, the  future  of  Canada  and  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

During  the  summer  Van  Home  could  feel  some  indi- 
cations of  a  revival  of  business.  The  crops  were  dis- 
appointing, but  new  mines  in  large  numbers  were  being 
opened  up  in  British  Columbia  and  the  Lake  Superior 
District.  In  October  he  returned  from  a  tour  of  in- 
spection of  the  main  line,  which  he  said  was  the  most 
satisfactory  he  had  ever  made.  "All  the  clouds  in  our 
sky  seem  to  have  disappeared,"  he  wrote  Boissevain,  and 
began  to  make  plans  for  securing  the  necessary  rolling- 
stock  to  move  the  traffic  which  was  bound  to  come. 
Throughout  the  depression  the  road  had  been  kept  in 
first-rate  condition  and  had  continued  to  undergo  im- 


242     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

provement,  but  equipment  had  been  skimped  to  avoid 
capital  outlays  and  to  allow  of  some  return  to  the  hun- 
gry shareholders.  When,  in  midsummer,  he  brought 
the  need  for  new  equipment  before  Mountstephen  and 
his  London  advisers,  they  seemed  to  doubt  the  need  or 
expediency  of  providing  it ;  whereupon  he  expressed  his 
deepened  conviction  that  shareholders  at  a  distance  must 
in  the  case  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  as  with  other  rail- 
ways in  a  growing  country,  "leave  something  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Board,  and  give  the  Board  authority  to 
meet  emergencies  as  they  arise,  or  we  will  very  quickly 
find  ourselves  in  a  similar  position  to  that  of  the  Grand 
Trunk."  There  is  even  a  little  steel  in  the  remark  that 
the  past  two  years,  "while  affording  some  valuable  les- 
sons, have  given  me  a  chill,  and  it  is  quite  possible  we 
may  make  a  mistake  by  over-caution  which  will  be  as 
costly  as  any  that  may  have  been  made  in  the  other  di- 
rection." 

Van  Home  was  piqued  by  the  restraints  on  develop- 
ment and  operation  imposed  by  the  necessity  of  share- 
holders and  by  the  security  market.  This  undoubtedly 
coloured  his  suggestions  to  the  editorial  management  of 
a  western  paper  in  which  the  company  was  interested. 
He  asked,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  for  "a  little  dig  at  the 
C.  P.  R.  now  and  then.  .  .  .  We  should  be  denounced 
in  unmeasured  terms  for  paying  dividends  and  failing 
to  provide  enough  rolling-stock  to  do  all  the  vast  busi- 
ness of  the  country.  .  .  ." 

The  company's  control  of  the  "Manitoba  Free  Press" 
had  been  acquired  some  years  earlier  when  every  line  of 
trenchant  abuse  written  about  the  Canadian  Pacific  was 
utilized  by  its  enemies  to  prejudice  its  financial  stand- 
ing, and  when  Winnipeg  was  intensely  hostile  to  the 
road  to  which  it  owed,  in  greatest  measure,  its  growth 


"The  Manitoba  Free  Press"  243 

and  prosperity.  W.  F.  Luxton,  a  gifted  journalist  who 
had  founded  the  paper,  was  a  keen  antagonist  of  the 
company.  The  absorption  of  a  weaker  rival  by  the 
"Free  Press"  led  him  into  the  error  of  making  his  enter- 
prise a  joint-stock  company.  This  gave  the  Canadian 
Pacific  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  a  proprietary  inter- 
est, Sir  Donald  Smith  and  Van  Horne  representing  the 
company.  Lest  the  connection  of  two  Canadian  Pacific 
directors  with  the  journal  should  give  rise  to  unfavour- 
able comment,  it  was  kept  secret,  or  at  any  rate  as  secret 
as  such  transactions  ever  remain — the  connection  was 
disclaimed,  but  no  well-informed  person  credited  the  dis- 
claimer. 

Luxton  was  essentially  a  man  of  the  people,  a  sincere 
radical  opposed  to  corporations  generally,  and  Van 
Horne  found  him  an  intractable  associate. 

"Our  attempts  at  steering  him  have  not  turned  out 
very  well/'  he  said.  "He  seems  to  think  that  abuse  of 
the  N.  P.  and  M.  Railway  and  Joe  Martin  is  ample  re- 
turn for  what  we  have  done." 

Openly  accused  of  editing  a  C.  P.  R.  organ,  Luxton 
persistently  attacked  members  of  the  Manitoba  govern- 
ment when  Van  Horne  was  endeavouring  to  establish 
friendly  relations  between  that  government  and  the  com- 
pany. 

"I  don't  care  a  curse  for  the  political  side  of  the  ques- 
tion," he  wrote,  with  his  customary  frankness  to  Lux- 
ton.  "The  interests  I  have  most  at  heart  are  at  stake — 
the  interests  of  the  C.  P.  R." 

Chafing  at  the  restraint  put  upon  his  independence, 
Luxton,  without  consulting  the  shareholders  who  con- 
trolled the  journal,  entered  into  secret  negotiations  for 
its  reorganization  with  men  who  were  agents  of  the 
Manitoba  government.  The  negotiations  quickly  came 


244     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

to  Van  Home's  knowledge,  together  with  statements 
that  Luxton,  perhaps  inadvertently,  had  betrayed  to  the 
agents  of  the  Manitoba  government  the  interest  held  in 
the  journal  by  the  Canadian  Pacific.  The  result  was  the 
removal  of  Luxton  from  the  editorial  chair  of  the  paper 
he  had  built  up,  and  to  which  he  was  as  deeply  devoted 
as  was  Van  Home  to  the  Canadian  Pacific.  Van 
Home  believed  Luxton,  who  left  the  "Press"  an  em- 
bittered and  disappointed  man,  to  have  deliberately  be- 
trayed their  friendship  and  business  confidences.  "The 
evidence,  to  my  mind,  would  have  hung  a  saint,"  he 
wrote  him. 

His  resentment  did  not  last,  and  he  had  dismissed  the 
matter  from  his  mind  when,  after  a  considerable  lapse 
of  time,  Luxton  put  his  pride  in  his  pocket  and  wrote 
him  that  he  wished  to  go  back  to  the  paper.  His  suc- 
cessor was  about  to  be  replaced,  and  his  old  chair  beck- 
oned to  him.  Van  Home  expressed  his  appreciation  of 
Luxton's  approaching  the  subject  "direct  and  man-fash- 
ion," but  could  not  get  him  reinstated. 

A  year  later,  in  response  to  another  appeal,  he  wrote : 

"I  am  prepared  to  say  further  that,  as  I  have  already 
intimated,  I  will  be  glad  to  do  what  I  can  toward  restor- 
ing your  connection  in  whole  or  in  part  with  the  F.  P. 
.  .  .  The  antagonisms  you  have  been  so  unfortunate  as 
to  create  are  pretty  strong,  and  they  can't  be  removed 
in  a  moment." 

Finally,  through  Van  Home's  efforts,  the  business 
manager  of  the  "Free  Press"  was  empowered  to  ap- 
proach Luxton  with  an  offer  to  return  to  the  journal. 
The  terms  of  the  offer  were  such  as  to  meet  with  a  proud 
refusal  by  Luxton,  who  sent  Van  Home  a  copy  of  the 
letter  he  had  written  the  agent.  This  brought  from 
Van  Home  as  brutal  a  letter  as  he  ever  wrote: 


"The  Manitoba  Free  Press"  245 

I  trust  you  will  read  to  the  end  what  I  have  to  say,  for  it  is 
perhaps  the  last  letter  I  will  ever  write  you,  and  I  would  not  take 
the  trouble  did  I  not  have  some  regard  for  you  and  a  sincere  desire 
to  help  you. 

I  think  you  are  the  damnedest — I  was  going  to  say  the  damned- 
est fool  I  have  ever  known,  but  I  can't  say  that  because  I  have 
known  two  or  three  others  who  completed  their  record  by  dying 
in  their  foolishness,  while  your  record  is  still  incomplete  and  there 
is  a  faint  chance  that  you  may  yet  make  a  turn  and  end  under 
suspicion  of  having  had  some  sense.  These  other  would-be  inde- 
pendent men  died  with  what  they  called  honour.  They  were 
buried  at  the  expense  of  somebody  else  and  were  followed  to 
their  graves  by  broken-hearted  wives  and  starved  and  ragged  chil- 
dren ;  and  if  their  memory  lingered  with  their  former  associates, 
it  only  served  as  an  illustration  of  folly.  Such  independence  and 
honour  be  damned !  You  seem  to  think  as  they  did  that  it  is 
possible  for  a  man  to  be  independent,  but  it  is  not,  and  no  man 
ever  was  or  ever  will  be.  Like  these  men  I  have  referred  to,  you 
were  ready  to  destroy  yourself  and  subject  your  family  to  un- 
happiness  and  privation  for  the  sake  of  this  word  "independence," 
the  meaning  of  which  you  apparently  do  not  know  any  more  than 
they  did.  No  man  can  be  independent  beyond  the  trust  of  his 
fellowmen  in  his  capacity,  judgment,  and  probity.  Bullheaded- 
ness  is  not  independence.  A  man  with  nobody  dependent  upon 
him  has  a  right  to  do  as  he  pleases  within  the  law — is  free  to 
antagonize  everybody  and  destroy  his  own  business — but  a  man 
with  wife  and  children  has  not.  He  is  a  brute  who  would  make 
his  family  suffer  for  the  gratification  of  his  vanity,  and  this  is 
nothing  else.  A  certain  kind  of  people  applaud  this  kind  of  her- 
oism, but  they  never  put  their  hands  in  their  pockets  to  help 
pay  for  the  consequences. 

So  far  as  the  "Free  Press"  is  concerned  you  lost  the  right  to  be 
independent  when  you  made  it  a  joint  stock  company  and  sold  the 
first  share.  The  interests  of  others  were  then  at  stake.  You 
mistook  yourself  for  the  company  and  disregarded  the  views  of 
your  associates  and  defied  them,  and  they  were  strong  enough 
to  put  you  out. 

Mr.  Somerset's  approach  to  you  was  the  first  step  towards  what 
I  told  you  some  months  ago  I  wished  to  see  brought  about.  It 
would  have  been  no  easy  matter  to  have  got  so  far,  but  for  his 


246     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  V an  Home 

hearty  approval  and  cooperation.  If  you  knew  how  unjust  and 
unwarranted  your  treatment  of  him  has  been  you  would  crawl 
on  your  knees  and  beg  his  pardon.  You  cannot  blame  him  for 
taking  the  place  he  was  offered  on  the  "Free  Press."  You  cannot 
blame  him  for  doing  what  he  was  required  to  do  subsequently. 
The  policy  was  not  his.  He  was  only  an  agent.  You  treated 
him  uncivilly — to  say  the  least — from  the  first.  I  know  this  from 
others,  not  from  him.  He  felt  much  hurt  at  times  but  put  it  all 
down  to  your  peculiarities  and  forgot  it.  He  was  your  friend 
from  first  to  last.  He  is  your  friend  yet.  He  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  your  removal,  and  he  felt  worse  than  any- 
body else,  save  yourself,  about  that.  There  are  among  those  you 
number  as  enemies  several  who  would  gladly  have  given  you  as- 
sistance from  their  own  pockets  and  would  have  offered  it,  but 
for  the  certainty  that  the  offer  would  be  met  with  a  volley  of 

abuse.  Mr. is  one  of  these,  little  as  he  could  afford  to  give. 

Perhaps  some  of  those  you  count  as  friends  were  as  well  dis- 
posed. I  doubt  it. 

In  speaking  of  a  certain  party  you  said  that  if  he  found  an  ob- 
stacle in  a  wide  road,  he  would  drive  straight  upon  it  and  smash 
himself  and  everything  else,  simply  because  he  thought  it  had  no 
right  to  be  there.  I  wondered  at  the  time  that  you  did  not  see 
you  were  looking  squarely  into  a  mirror. 

You  have  many  admirable  qualities  and  ought  to  occupy  a  high 
and  influential  position  in  society,  but  you  are  destroying  your- 
self with  temper  and  false  pride. 

As  soon  as  Winnipeg's  antagonism  to  the  Canadian 
Pacific  had  given  way  to  a  better  understanding,  the 
company  relinquished  its  interest  in  the  journal,  but 
while  Van  Home  was  concerned  in  its  editorial  policy, 
his  injunctions  to  its  various  editors  betrayed  a  lively 
sense  of  journalistic  problems. 

"Strength  and  incisiveness  in  the  editorials  ...  an 
accurate  and  breezy  local  column  ...  an  ample  per- 
sonal column,"  for  "the  personal  column  in  a  local  paper 
is  something  like  a  lottery  and  popular  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  chances  of  being  mentioned  in  it." 


"The  Manitoba  Free  Press"  247 

He  talked  to  editors  in  the  same  blunt  terms  he  used 
with  railwaymen.  He  assured  one  whose  efforts  were 
characterized  in  the  community  as  being  "milk  and 
water"  that  "the  people  of  Manitoba  did  n't  care  a  damn 
for  a  long  editorial  on  some  social  question  in  England, 
or  the  Tarte  charges  at  Ottawa,  and  faraway  things  of 
that  kind ;  brief  references  to  those  things  were  all  well 
enough,  but  they  wanted  something  nearer  home,  and 
more  virility  and  pungency."  He  suggested  that  a 
newspaper  in  a  new  country  should  advocate  the  most 
up-to-date  ideas  of  town-planning,  with  broad  main 
arteries  and  adequate  laterals,  but  whatever  the  policy 
it  fathered,  it  could  only  succeed  if  it  were  "aggressive, 
and  not  defensive.  It  should  speak  more  as  if  it  had  a 
purpose  in  this  world  than  as  if  the  reason  of  its  exist- 
ence had  to  be  justified.  .  .  .  The  people  of  this  coun- 
try, especially  those  of  the  West,  like  the  sound  of  the 
whip-cracker!"  He  would  be  glad  to  have  the  "Free 
Press"  attack  the  government  and  the  company  for  their 
inactivity  in  promoting  immigration,  for  "the  attacks 
will  give  us  an  opportunity  to  show  what  we  are  doing, 
and  what  the  government  is  failing  to  do." 

A  fine  harvest  in  1893  improved  the  earnings  of  the 
company,  which  was  soon  able  to  resume  the  payment 
of  a  dividend  on  its  common  stock.  But  a  general  re- 
vival of  trade  was  checked  by  the  Venezuelan  boundary 
dispute  and  Cleveland's  "shirt-sleeve"  message.  The 
channels  open  to  him  at  Washington  enabled  Van  Home 
to  forward  to  Downing  Street  through  the  Canadian 
government  a  report  on  the  attitude  of  Congress.  Great 
Britain's  refusal  to  arbitrate  her  claim  to  the  Schomberg 
line  would  mean  war. 

The  situation  was  critical  during  the  winter  of  1895- 
96,  and  Van  Home  believed  that  Canada  should  ^t  least 


248     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

consider  the  possibility  of  being  suddenly  involved  in 
war.  He  pressed  upon  the  Canadian  Premier,  Sir 
Charles  Tupper,  the  need  of  securing  adequate  military 
maps  of  the  eastern  states  contiguous  to  Canadian  terri- 
tory, as  Canada's  chief  line  of  defence  would  lie  there. 

The  United  States  War  Department  was  equally  fore- 
sighted.  When  Captain  Arthur  Lee,  R.  A.,  came  out 
from  England  to  make  a  military  survey  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence valley  above  Montreal,  he  found  that  the  Canadian 
canals  had  been  surveyed  by  American  military  engi- 
neers, evidently  with  a  view  to  interrupting  their  use 
in  case  of  war.  He  came  to  Van  Home  with  a  scheme 
to  transport  torpedo-boats  by  rail  from  Quebec  to  the 
Great  Lakes.  The  latter  worked  out  the  plans  with  his 
officials.  He  declared  the  scheme  was  practicable,  and 
that  the  boats  could  be  transported  on  special  trucks  and 
delivered  within  forty-eight  or  seventy-two  hours  after 
notification. 

Captain  Lee  forwarded  the  scheme  to  England,  where 
it  was  buried  in  the  Admiralty  pigeon-holes  for  a  year. 
Nothing  was  heard  of  it  until,  at  Van  Home's  instiga- 
tion, Sir  Donald  Smith  stirred  the  Admiralty  and  the 
War  Office  to  a  consideration  of  the  plan.  It  was  ac- 
cepted by  both  as  a  valuable  alternative  to  water  trans- 
portation, and  the  thanks  of  the  British  government 
were  conveyed  to  Van  Home  through  General  Gas- 
coigne,  and  promptly  disclaimed  by  him  in  favour  of 
the  young  officer  who  had  originated  the  scheme. 

The  crops  of  1896  were  not  nearly  so  bountiful  as 
those  of  1895,  and  a  general  election  also  hampered  the 
restoration  of  business  activity.  The  Conservative 
party  had  held  power  since  1879,  and  the  government 
was  suffering  from  the  apathy  and  feebleness  of  senil- 
ity. As  early  as  1893  Van  Home  had  prophesied  that 


Another  Dominion  Election  249 

"unless  there  is  a  radical  change  in  the  personnel,  as 
well  as  the  policy  of  the  present  government,  it  is  abso- 
lutely certain  to  go  down  at  the  next  election.  ...  It 
is  n't  the  National  policy — it  is  general  disgust  and  want 
of  confidence." 

The  relations  between  the  company  and  the  govern- 
ment were  entirely  amicable,  but  the  government's  treat- 
ment of  the  company  had  been  anything  but  friendly 
and  its  laissez-faire  attitude  to  immigration  had  given 
constant  vexation.  The  election  was  fought  with  the 
Manitoba  schools  question  as  the  main  issue,  and  both 
the  company  and  Van  Home  declined  to  assist  the  Con- 
servative party  although  they  were  accused  in  many  quar- 
ters of  doing  so. 

"We  are  keeping  clear  of  the  fight/'  he  wrote  Mount- 
Stephen,  "and  I  don't  think  we  have  anything  to  fear 
from  the  Grits  if  they  get  in,  for  it  is  on  their  slate  to 
prove  that  theirs  is  the  party  of  progress." 

As  the  election  drew  near  Joseph  Martin  charged  the 
company  with  partisanship.  Van  Home  assured  Laur- 
ier,  the  Liberal  leader,  "I  am  doing  my  best  to  keep  on 
the  fence,  although  it  turns  out  to  be  a  barbed  wire  one." 

There  was  one  exception  to  this  neutrality.  Hugh 
John  Macdonald,  the  son  of  the  "Old  Chieftain,"  was 
the  Conservative  candidate  for  Winnipeg.  He  was  one 
of  the  company's  counsel  and  a  personal  friend  of  its 
officers  in  that  city;  and  they  supported  him  more  or 
less  actively  against  an  opponent  who  retained  a  linger- 
ing resentment  to  the  company,  arising  out  of  its  early 
quarrels  with  Winnipeg.  Van  Home  was  taken  to  task 
for  this  support  by  a  Liberal  politician,  and  retorted: 
"When  we  undertook  to  maintain  a  position  on  the  fence, 
it  was  not  to  be  implied  that  we  could  not  get  down  and 
kick  any  individual  who  might  throw  stones  and  rotten 


250     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

eggs  at  us.  We  hold  ourselves  free  to  do  that,  and 
neither  the  Liberal  nor  the  Conservative  party  have  a 
right  to  object." 

Laurier  won  a  sweeping  victory  at  the  polls,  and  was 
at  once  in  difficulty  in  distributing  a  dozen  cabinet  seats 
among  twenty  strong  claimants.  Van  Home  was  spe- 
cially interested  in  having  a  man  at  the  head  of  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  who  would  put  forward  a 
vigorous  immigration  policy.  He  advocated  the  ap- 
pointment of  Clifford  Sifton,  and  deprecated  a  proposal 
to  leave  him  in  Manitoba  until  a  settlement  had  been 
made  of  the  schools  question  which  he  and  the  Mani- 
toban  Premier,  Greenway,  had  largely  contributed  to 
bringing  into  the  political  arena. 


CHAPTER  XX 

1896-99.      THE  LOSS  OF  THE  DULUTH   AND  WINNI- 
PEG.      A  BITTER  BLOW.      ATLANTIC  STEAMSHIP  SERV- 
ICE.      RESIGNS  PRESIDENCY  OF  C.   P.   R.       A  HOLIDAY 
IN    CALIFORNIA. 

AFTER  four  years  of  depression,  1897  witnessed 
a  flowing  tide  of  prosperity.  A  great  major- 
ity of  the  established  farmers  in  the  Northwest 
realized  in  that  one  year  more  from  their  crops  and 
cattle  than  their  lands  and  improvements  had  cost  them. 
The  discovery  of  extraordinary  deposits  of  gold  in  the 
Yukon  territory  contributed  appreciably  to  the  general 
improvement,  and  the  traffic  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
was  largely  augmented  through  the  rapid  development 
of  mining  in  British  Columbia  and  the  Lake-of-the- 
Woods  district.  The  sudden  increase  of  business  neces- 
sitated great  additions  to  rolling-stock,  elevators,  ter- 
minal facilities,  mining  spurs,  and  sidings.  At  last  Van 
Home  was  able  to  proceed  with  the  construction  of  the 
line  from  Lethbridge  through  the  Crow's  Nest  Pass, 
and  during  the  year  it  reached  a  point  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  summit  of  the  Rockies.  Lines  were  acquired 
and  extended  in  southern  British  Columbia.  Steam- 
ships were  purchased  to  ply  between  Vancouver  and  the 
Yukon.  The  new  government,  with  Clifford  Sifton  as 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  was  prosecuting  a  vigorous 
immigration  campaign,  the  success  of  which  was  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  renewed  prosperity  of  the  farmers. 

251 


252     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

But  there  was  one  cloud  in  Van  Home's  firmament, 
for  during  the  year  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  changed 
hands  and  its  control  passed  over  to  Hill.  That  little 
road  had  been  acquired  on  the  eve  of  the  great  depres- 
sion which  upset  the  commercial  and  financial  well- 
being  of  the  whole  continent,  and  consequently  had  not 
at  once  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  its  full  worth. 
But  those  who  had  doubted  its  value,  he  wrote  Thomas 
Skinner,  a  London  director,  in  1895,  would  learn  within 
a  year  that  "to  lose  it  would  have  been  an  irreparable 
mistake.  .  .  .  Our  misfortune  with  that  and  with  the 
'Soo'  extension  was  that  the  bottom  unexpectedly 
dropped  out  of  everything  just  as  we  had  got  them 
beyond  recovery.  I  have  not  for  a  minute  doubted  the 
wisdom  and  the  necessity  of  these  two  things;  but  one 
cannot  say  much  in  defence  of  anything  of  the  kind 
during  such  sickening  times  as  we  have  just  passed 
through." 

Apart  from  the  difficulties  resulting  from  Hill's  re- 
sentment, Van  Horne  and  his  colleagues  had  often  had 
cause  to  regret  the  acquisition  of  the  property.  Its 
value  as  a  defensive  weapon  against  encroachments  by 
Hill's  lines  was  unquestionable,  and  although  it  became 
apparent  that  Van  Horne  had  been  seriously  misled  as 
to  the  condition  and  earning  power  of  the  railway  when 
it  was  taken  over,  no  mistake  had  been  made  in  regard- 
ing it  as  a  prospective  feeder  of  the  first  importance  to 
the  South  Shore.  But  large  outlays  were  necessary  to 
develop  it  into  a  paying  property,  and  the  company  was 
without  the  means  to  provide  for  such  expenditures. 
Moreover,  the  payment  of  the  purchase  price  had  seri- 
ously crippled  the  company's  financial  position  and  had 
been  the  prime  factor  in  compelling  the  directors  to  pass 
the  dividend  for  the  second  half  of  1894,  when  the  share- 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  253 

holders  had  been  assured  that  a  fund  was  being  main- 
tained to  meet  dividend  requirements.  Notwithstanding 
Mountstephen's  unwavering  loyalty,  this  consequence 
of  the  transaction  had  weakened  his  confidence  and  that 
of  his  London  friends  in  Van  Home's  administration. 

In  1896  the  Canadian  Pacific  had  little  or  nothing  to 
show  for  its  expenditure  on  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg 
but  lawsuits  arising  out  of  foreclosure  and  reorganiza- 
tion proceedings,  and  it  was  clear  to  the  directors  that 
it  could  only  be  made  an  effective  traffic-producing  line 
by  the  outlay  of  many  millions  of  dollars  for  the  pur- 
chase of  iron  mines,  the  construction  of  a  second  track, 
and  betterments.  All  of  these  things  Hill  did  after  he 
had  purchased  the  road.  He  was  fortunately  able  to 
do  them;  such  expenditures  were  then,  and  for  several 
years,  altogether  beyond  the  resources  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific.  Angus  and  Shaughnessy  met  Hill  in  New  York 
and  started  negotiations  for  a  sale  which  was  eventually 
carried  out  on  terms  that  promised  eastbound  traffic  to 
the  "Soo"  and  South  Shore  from  Hill's  western  lines 
and  trackage  rights  over  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  if 
the  South  Shore  were  compelled  to  extend  northward. 
Van  Home  opposed  the  sale  of  the  road,  but  found  him- 
self under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  arranging  the 
terms  of  its  sale  to  Hill. 

Since  the  transaction  had  to  be  carried  out,  Van 
Home  was  anxious  to  secure  the  best  possible  traffic 
arrangements.  But  the  negotiations  were  repugnant  to 
his  spirit.  In  the  course  of  them  he  wrote  Mount- 
Stephen,  in  June,  1896,  reminding  him  that  the  road 
was  in  such  excellent  condition  that  it  would  soon  repay 
its  cost,  and  the  company  could  retain  control  without 
expense. 

"I  doubt/'  he  said,  "if  we  will  ever  be  safe  in  parting 


254     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

with  the  road  on  any  terms — it  holds  so  much  of  im- 
portance for  our  future." 

This  was  the  last  protest  wrung  from  his  reluctance 
to  carry  out  his  colleagues'  wishes,  and  in  April,  1897, 
he  cabled  Mountstephen,  "You  will  be  glad  to  hear  D. 
and  W.  matter  settled  satisfaction  everybody."  The 
long-drawn-out  fight  was  over. 

Stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  features  of  this  con- 
test out  of  all  proportion  to  its  real  importance  because 
they  illuminate  Van  Home's  qualities  and  defects  as  a 
railway  tactician,  tenacious  fighter,  and  financier. 
There  is  unimpeachable  testimony  that  he  shared  the  sat- 
isfaction and  relief  of  his  co-directors  in  the  settlement. 
But  as  time  wore  on  he  forgot  the  compelling  necessities 
of  the  company  and  remembered  only  the  mortification 
of  surrender.  He  felt  himself  to  be  thoroughly  vindi- 
cated when  the  road  and  the  iron-mines  turned  out  to 
be  a  veritable  bonanza  to  the  Great  Northern,  and  when 
Hill  failed  to  redeem  his  promise  of  eastbound  traffic  to 
the  "Soo"  and  South  Shore  lines.  Looking  back  upon 
the  transaction,  he  came  to  feel  that  he  had  been  handi- 
capped by  the  intervention  and  pressure  of  Mount- 
Stephen  and  his  associates.  What  would  have  happened, 
how  the  fight  would  have  terminated,  without  that  in- 
tervention is  difficult  to  imagine.  It  took  place  at  a  time 
when  the  heads  of  American  railways,  in  many  cases, 
were  so  uncontrolled  that  they  were  apt  to  comport 
themselves  as  absolute  monarchs  over  the  systems  under 
their  direction,  and  often  used  them  as  their  personal 
tools  and  playthings.  Van  Home  enjoyed  no  such  auto- 
cratic power,  but  if  he  had,  he  certainly  would  have  used 
it  to  the  limit  to  achieve  a  victory  over  his  adversary. 
On  the  other  hand,  Hill,  who  held  very  nearly  absolute 
dominion  over  two  transcontinental  roads  and  was  ris- 


The  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railway  255 

ing  to  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  authority  in  the  railway 
world,  was  checked  by  the  influence  of  his  Canadian  as- 
sociates, to  whom,  in  great  measure,  he  owed  his  eminent 
success.  If  Van  Home  as  a  railway  tactician,  a  fight- 
ing general  in  the  open  field,  was  Hill's  master,  Hill  was 
a  wily  and  patient  strategist  and  was  not  one  to  be  de- 
terred by  scruples  from  employing  any  weapons  what- 
ever to  accomplish  his  end.  With  his  Wall  Street  con- 
nections, he  was  in  a  position,  in  the  late  nineties,  to 
do  more  damage  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  than  Van  Home 
could  inflict  on  the  Great  Northern  and  Northern  Pacific. 
Larger  forces  would  have  been  involved,  and  much  in- 
jury might  have  been  done  to  the  interests  of  the  three 
companies  without  benefit  to  anyone.  It  was  well,  then, 
that  these  two  men  were  kept  from  flying  at  each  other's 
throat  by  associates  who  held  large  views  and  who  were 
actuated  by  a  desire  for  harmony  and  mutual  welfare. 

Van  Home  could  happily  turn  from  the  depres- 
sing subject  of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  to  find  some 
compensation  and  pleasure  in  the  various  developments 
necessitated  by  rapidly  increasing  traffic.  The  rush  to 
the  Klondike  had  created  a  world-wide  interest  in  Can- 
ada, and  its  resources  becoming  better  known,  settlers 
flocked  in  large  numbers  to  extract  the  richer  gold  of  the 
prairies.  The  semi-arid  region  between  Calgary  and 
Moosejaw  began  to  come  into  its  own.  Since  the  con- 
struction of  the  road  this  region  had  been  regarded  as 
fit  for  grazing  and  for  little  else.  Early  in  the  eighties 
Van  Home  had  provoked  ridicule  by  stating  his  convic- 
tion "that  every  mile  of  this  country  will  yet  become  an 
asset  to  the  Canadian  Pacific."  This  statement  was 
disputed,  or  set  down  laughingly  as  "one  of  Van  Home's 
boom  stories."  Urged  to  apply  to  the  government  to  be 
allowed  to  select  land  outside  of  this  semi-arid  belt, 


256     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

where  part  of  the  original  land-grant  lay,  Van  Home 
had  persisted  in  his  faith  that  the  land  would  prove 
to  be  particularly  valuable  if  irrigated.  Now,  in  1897, 
experiments  at  Moosejaw  and  in  southern  Alberta  vin- 
dicated all  that  he  had  prophesied  concerning  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  under  a  system  of  irrigation. 

"This,"  said  Hamilton,  the  company's  land  commis- 
sioner, "is  one  of  many  instances  of  the  inspiration  with 
which  Sir  William  spoke  when  he  first  sized  up  a  prob- 
lem. He  was  always  right  then — more  accurate  than 
he  was  sometimes  later  when  reviewing  his  statements 
or  reasoning  them  out." 

Van  Home's  friendship  with  many  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  United  States  Senate  gave  him  unusual 
facilities  for  ascertaining  their  attitude  to  international 
questions  of  the  day,  and  the  new  Canadian  government 
frequently  used  his  services  in  order  to  obtain  an  insight 
into  the  plans  of  their  neighbours  at  Washington.  They 
appealed  to  him  when,  confronted  with  the  drastic  Ding- 
ley  tariff,  they  instituted  a  preference  for  British  goods 
and  conveyed  a  standing  invitation  to  the  United  States 
by  providing  for  reciprocity  in  the  case  of  any  country 
admitting  Canadian  goods  on  terms  as  favourable  as 
those  of  the  Canadian  tariff.  They  were  anxious  to 
learn  whether  these  measures  would  be  met  by  an  offer 
of  reciprocity  or  by  reprisals.  The  latter  might  take  the 
form  of  cancellation  of  the  bonding  privileges  of  Cana- 
dian railways.  Van  Home,  acting  very  much  as  a 
quasi-ambassador  between  the  two  countries,  was  able 
to  inform  the  Canadian  government,  early  in  1897,  that 
there  was  no  likelihood  of  the  United  States  entertaining 
any  proposals  of  reciprocity. 

The  exploitation  of  the  Klondike  and  the  Yukon  ter- 
ritory gave  rise  to  another  international  question,  the 


An  Atlantic  Steamship  Service  257 

determination  of  the  Alaskan  boundary,  and  the  first 
approach  to  a  settlement  was  made  through  Van  Home. 
"The  authorities  at  Washington/*  he  wrote  the  Cana- 
dian Premier  in  December,  1897,  "wish  to  consult  with 
the  Dominion  authorities  concerning  Yukon  matters, 
and,  among  other  things,  I  understand  that  they  wish 
to  get  permission  to  send  United  States  troops  to  the 
Fort  Cudahy  district  through  Canadian  territory.  This 
will  afford  a  good  opportunity  to  open  up  the  other  two 
questions  Mr.  Sifton  is  so  anxious  to  have  settled, 
namely,  the  bonding  and  Mounted  Police  questions.  I 
have  suggested  to  friends  in  Washington  that  Mr.  Sifton 
should  be  invited  to  come  there  within  a  few  days,  and 
I  am  very  sure  that  this  will  be  done,  for  they  have 
already  asked  me  to  find  out  if  he  will  be  willing  to 


come." 


A  joint  High  Commission  was  appointed  to  settle  the 
boundary  dispute,  and  returning  from  Washington  in 
July,  1898,  Van  Home  could  add  this  postscript  to  a 
letter  to  Sifton,  "Just  back  from  Washington.  Noth- 
ing but  brotherly  love  there  now." 

Since  the  failure  of  the  negotiations  for  running- 
rights  over  the  Intercolonial  Railway,  the  question  of 
an  Atlantic  steamship  service  had  fallen  into  the  back- 
ground, and  had  been  only  momentarily  revived  when 
Sir  Charles  Tupper  called  for  tenders  before  the  elec- 
tion of  1896.  Now  the  extraordinary  growth  of  trade 
brought  it  prominently  to  the  fore,  and  the  country  was 
again  looking  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  for  leadership. 
The  company  was  unable  to  secure  adequate  tonnage 
from  the  port  of  Montreal,  and  with  its  nine  thousand 
miles  of  railway  and  its  steamship  interests  on  the 
Pacific,  an  Atlantic  ferry-service  was  becoming  of  enor- 
mous importance. 


258     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

The  project  of  a  Canadian  Pacific  steamship  service 
across  the  Atlantic  had  intrigued  Van  Home's  mind 
from  the  beginning  of  his  connection  with  the  road,  and 
he  turned  eagerly  to  take  advantage  of  the  new  demand. 
Recommending  as  a  first  and  immediate  step  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  line  of  freight  steamers,  he  seized  every 
opportunity  to  cultivate  public  opinion  in  favor  of  ade- 
quate subsidies  for  a  passenger  service  of  vessels  supe- 
rior in  fittings,  elegance,  and  comfort  to  the  best  run- 
ning to  New  York.  At  a  banquet  given  him  at  the 
Garrison  Club  of  Quebec,  in  1898,  he  pointed  out  that 
Canada  was  about  to  receive  an  unprecedented  influx  of 
immigrants,  who  should  be  brought  in  comfort  to  the 
Canadian  shores  by  Canadian  ships.  Instead  of  losing 
half  the  Canadian  passenger-traffic  to  New  York,  a  line 
of  fast  Canadian  steamers,  unsurpassed  in  comfort  and 
attractiveness,  would,  by  reason  of  the  shorter  Canadian 
route,  capture  a  part  of  the  American  traffic.  More- 
over, it  would  stimulate  the  wanderlust  of  European 
tourists  and  bring  them  in  far  greater  numbers  to  the 
unrivalled  playgrounds  of  Canada  and  to  the  mysterious 
and  fascinating  Orient.  He  played  delightedly  with  the 
idea  of  a  traveller  purchasing  at  Euston  or  the  Gare  du 
Nord  a  little  pasteboard  ticket,  no  bigger  than  an  Eng- 
lish railway  ticket,  by  means  of  which  he  could  encircle 
the  globe,  via  Yokohama,  Vancouver  and  Montreal,  with 
all  the  customary  cares  of  travel,  such  as  connections, 
transfers,  hotel  accommodation,  automatically  lifted  by 
the  trained  employees  of  the  company.  The  tourist 
would  travel  like  a  royal  personage,  with  every  need 
forestalled  by  an  attentive  suite. 

The  fast  Atlantic  service,  however,  was  again  pushed 
into  the  background,  this  time  by  the  Boer  War;  and 
Van  Home  could  find  small  scope  for  his  imaginative 


Resigns  the  Presidency  of  the  C.  P.  Ry.       259 

faculties  in  improving  terminals  in  Montreal,  Winnipeg, 
and  Vancouver,  or  in  carrying  out  the  obvious  develop- 
ments which  the  growth  of  the  company  demanded. 

"Have  you  remarked  anything  new  in  Van  Home?" 
asked  a  discerning  friend.  "Did  it  ever  strike  you  that 
he  has  the  C.  P.  R.  almost  finished  now — a  great  work 
securely  established,  a  success  that  no  one  or  nothing  can 
possibly  break?  And  just  because  it  is  a  finished  thing, 
Van  Home  positively  is  losing  interest  in  it?  I  believe 
he  will  get  out  as  soon  as  he  can." 

The  speaker  was  right.  The  Canadian  Pacific  was  a 
completed  system  and  well  started  on  the  way  to  becom- 
ing the  greatest  transportation  organization  in  the  world. 
The  Crow's  Nest  Pass  line  had  reached  Kootenay  Lake 
and  was  being  extended  westward  to  the  coast.  The 
"Soo"  line  was  prospering  and  able  to  recoup  the  com- 
pany's treasury  for  the  advances  made  to  assist  it 
through  the  period  of  depression.  In  1897  Van  Home 
told  President  Underwood  of  that  road  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  leaving  the  Canadian  Pacific  until  "it  was 
quite  out  of  the  woods."  That  condition  was  now  ful- 
filled. It  was  paying  substantial  dividends,  and  its  earn- 
ings largely  exceeded  its  dividend  requirements.  Its 
stock  was  selling  at  par.  Its  financial  position  was  be- 
yond peradventure.  Its  future  welfare  depended  upon 
intensive  development  and,  above  all  things,  upon  effec- 
tive administration ;  and  the  details  of  management  were 
becoming  year  by  year  more  distasteful  to  Van  Home. 
Irresistible  impulses  were  drawing  him  to  private  enter- 
prises which  offered  new,  if  smaller,  fields  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  creative  talents.  The  pursuit  of  painting 
and  his  other  artistic  hobbies  was  making  large  inroads 
upon  his  time  and  thought.  The  more  apathetic  he  be- 
came to  the  work  of  administration,  the  more  that  work 


260     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

devolved  on  Shaughnessy,  who,  a  dozen  years  younger 
than  himself,  had  come  to  be  regarded  among  the  direc- 
tors and  officials  as  the  effective  force  in  the  company. 

Van  Home's  whole-hearted  enthusiasm  for  his  work 
had  begun  to  wane  when  Mountstephen  left  the  direc- 
torate. As  he  had  foreseen  and  told  the  latter,  the 
Canadian  Pacific  could  never  be  the  same  to  him  after- 
wards. Mountstephen's  withdrawal  had  coincided  with 
a  financial  stringency  which  put  a  stop  to  railway  build- 
ing and  made  useless  the  planning  of  extensions  and 
developments ;  and  without  these  things  Van  Home  was 
unhappy.  As  early  as  1895  he  had  spoken  of  retiring, 
but  had  been  persuaded  by  Shaughnessy  to  remain  until 
the  position  of  the  company  was  completely  reestab- 
lished. This  was  now  the  case,  and  he  had  not  even 
the  zest  of  a  fight  of  any  kind  on  his  hands.  It  was  use- 
less to  go  to  law  to  enforce  the  fulfilment  of  Hill's  con- 
tract to  give  the  Canadian  Pacific  his  eastbound  traffic, 
for  such  contracts  were  not  recognized  by  the  courts 
of  the  United  States ;  and,  as  he  wrote  Mountstephen  in 
October,  1898,  "we  have  lost  the  only  arm  he  was  afraid 
of."  The  time  was  ripe  for  a  change,  and  when  that 
time  arrives,  rumours  quickly  circulate. 

A  whisper  reached  the  ears  of  the  financial  editor  of  a 
Montreal  journal,  and  a  reporter  who  obtained  entrance 
to  Van  Home's  office  secured  from  him  a  qualified  state- 
ment of  his  intention  to  resign.  No  date  was  named. 
The  story  was  cabled  to  the  world's  financial  centres. 
The  stock  markets  immediately  responded,  Canadian 
Pacific  dropping  several  points  in  London  and  New 
York.  Confidence  was  restored  by  a  denial  that  he  was 
about  to  resign.  But  plans  were  being  made  for  his 
retirement,  and  he  wras  discussing  with  his  directors  the 
steps  to  be  taken  to  strengthen  the  organization. 


A  Holiday  In  California  261 

"I  have  enough/'  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "for  my  wants 
and  those  of  my  family,  and  just  as  soon  as  I  can  be  re- 
lieved of  the  duties  I  owe  to  others  in  the  Canadian 
Pacific  and  a  few  other  things,  I  wish  to  retire  from 
business  entirely." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  on  June  12,  1899,  Van 
Home  resigned  the  presidency,  and  Shaughnessy 
reigned  in  his  stead.  As  chairman  of  the  board  and  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee  he  had  no  admin- 
istrative duties,  but  he  retained  his  office  in  the  com- 
pany's headquarters  and  told  his  friends,  "I  shall  still 
hang  about  the  old  stand." 

Various  holiday  plans,  however,  took  shape  in  his 
mind.  Japan  had  been  calling  to  him  long  and  insist- 
ently, but  he  deferred  a  visit  to  that  country  and  in  Sep- 
tember set  out  in  his  private-car  with  a  party  of  friends 
for  sunny  California.  At  San  Francisco  the  party  was 
entertained  in  regal  style  by  J.  W.  Mackay  of  trans- 
atlantic cable  fame.  After  a  week  of  festivity  his 
friends  decided  to  return  to  the  East,  and  Van  Home 
took  his  car  as  far  south  as  Monterey.  Arrived  there, 
he  secured  a  room  at  an  hotel  and,  in  his  own  words : 

"I  went  out  on  the  verandah  and  sat  down,  and  smoked 
a  big  cigar.  Then  I  got  up,  walked  about  the  verandah, 
and  looked  at  the  scenery.  It  was  very  fine.  Then  I 
sat  down  again  and  smoked  another  cigar.  Then  up 
again ;  another  walk  about  the  verandah,  and  more  scen- 
ery. It  was  still  very  fine.  I  sat  down  again,  and 
smoked  another  cigar.  Then  I  jumped  up,  and  tele- 
phoned for  my  car  to  be  coupled  to  the  next  train ;  and, 
by  jinks,  I  was  never  so  happy  in  my  life  as  I  was  when 
I  struck  the  C.  P.  R.  again." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

PRIVATE     INTERESTS.       THE     WINDSOR 
SALT      CO.       THE      LAURENTIDE      PULP      CO.       COVEN- 
HOVEN.       JAPANESE     POTTERY.      ART     COLLECTIONS. 
PAINTINGS.       CUBA. 

VAN  HORNE  had  amassed  a  considerable  for- 
tune since  his  arrival  in  Canada.  Enjoying 
from  the  first  a  large  salary,  which  was  doubled 
after  a  few  years  of  service,  he  was  able  to  make 
numerous  investments  in  private  enterprises.  He 
was  a  partner  for  several  years  in  a  car  works  in  Chi- 
cago, and,  prior  to  his  retirement  from  the  presidency 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  sold  out  his  interest  at  a  very 
handsome  figure  to  the  American  Car  and  Foundry 
Company.  Operations  in  the  stock  market  had  small 
attraction  for  him.  In  keeping  with  his  natural  bent, 
he  sought  for  investment  and  profit  the  opportunities 
which  are  abundantly  offered  by  a  growing  country 
of  developing  its  resources  to  supply  the  needs  of 
the  community.  Some  of  these,  such  as  the  Canada 
North- West  Land  Company  and  the  Chateau  Frontenac, 
were  the  direct  outcome  of  the  necessities  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific,  and  milling  and  elevator  companies  were 
promoted  by  him  and  his  associates  as  much  to  provide 
business  for  the  railway  as  to  bring  profit  to  themselves. 
Considerations  such  as  these  led  him,  in  1892,  to  start 
works  at  Windsor,  Ontario,  for  the  mining  and  manu- 
facture of  salt.  As  president  of  the  salt  company, 
which  he  continued  to  be  until  his  death,  Van  Home 

262 


Private  Interests  263 

took  a  dominating  part  in  its  organization  and  in  fight- 
ing its  early  battles  with  powerful  American  competi- 
tors until  it  obtained  an  established  position  and  its 
product  became  a  household  word  all  over  the  Domin- 
ion. With  R.  B.  Angus  and  others,  and  with  James 
Ross  and  William  MacKenzie,  who  had  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  their  fortunes  in  the  construction  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific,  he  was  associated  in  obtaining  control  of 
several  tramway  systems,  notably  in  Toronto,  St.  John, 
and  Winnipeg,  and  in  converting  them  into  modern 
electric  street  railways. 

His  ventures  were  not  invariably  successful.  When 
the  Kootenay  District  was  beginning  to  be  known  for 
its  gold  deposits,  he  made  one  of  his  annual  tours  of 
inspection,  and  his  train  was  delayed  for  some  hours 
at  Yale.  In  order  to  pass  the  time  away  it  was  sug- 
gested that  the  party  should  try  their  hands  at  wash- 
ing the  river  soil  for  gold.  They  went  down  to  the 
river  and,  under  the  guidance  of  an  old  California  miner, 
they  washed  and  found  gold  in  their  pans.  One  of  them 
proposed  that  each  member  of  the  party  should  put 
$8,000  into  a  hydraulic  mining-plant.  Several  agreed, 
and  the  Horsefly  and  Cariboo  Hydraulic  mining  com- 
panies were  born  of  the  expedition.  These,  which  con- 
ducted the  only  placer  mining  operations  in  British  Co- 
lumbia, struggled  along  for  several  years  and  were 
eventually  wound  up  after  much  more  than  the  original 
investment  had  been  lost. 

In  1897  Van  Home  became  interested,  with  General 
Russell  A.  Alger,  Secretary  of  War  in  McKinley's  cab- 
inet, in  the  organization  of  a  pulp  manufacturing  com- 
pany at  Grand  Mere  on  the  St.  Maurice  River.  General 
Alger  foresaw  that  the  wasteful  lumbering  operations 
carried  on  in  the  United  States  without  reafforestation 


264     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

would  result  in  a  shortage  of  pulp  wood,  and  that  re- 
course must  be  had  to  the  spruce  forests  of  Canada  to 
supply  the  increasing  demand  of  the  future.  He  ac- 
quired a  small  pulp  mill  at  Grand  Mere  and  the  timber 
on  a  tract  of  fifteen  hundred  square  miles  of  country, 
bearing  white  spruce  of  the  best  quality  for  manufacture 
into  pulp.  The  falls  of  the  St.  Maurice  at  Grand  Mere 
were  among  the  finest  on  the  continent.  They  would 
not  only  furnish  abundant  power  for  the  largest  plant, 
but,  when  developed  to  capacity,  would  furnish  scores 
of  thousands  of  horse-power  for  distribution  to  the  fac- 
tories of  Montreal.  These  resources  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  Van  Home's  imagination,  and  he  went  en- 
thusiastically into  the  enterprise.  In  collaboration  with 
R.  B.  Angus,  he  organized  a  company  known  as  the 
Laurentide  Pulp  Company,  of  which  he  became  the' 
president.  In  that  capacity  he  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  erection  of  pulp  mills  and  power-plant,  and  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  the  company's  product. 

In  association  with  General  Alger  and  Senator  Proc- 
tor of  Vermont,  Van  Home  also  interested  himself  in 
another  pulp  and  power  enterprise  at  Grand  Falls,  New 
Brunswick;  and  he  aided  Henry  M.  Whitney  of  Boston 
in  the  organization  of  companies  for  the  mining  of  coal 
and  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  in  Cape  Breton. 

A  visit  to  New  Brunswick  in  the  late  eighties  to  in- 
spect the  New  Brunswick  Railway  system  and  arrange 
for  its  lease  to  the  Canadian  Pacific,  brought  Van  Home 
to  the  little  town  of  St.  Andrews  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Croix  River.  St.  Andrews,  once  important  for  its 
sailing  ships,  had  fallen  into  decay,  but  he  was  charmed 
by  the  exquisite  beauty  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay  and  its 
protecting  islands.  He  purchased  the  greater  part  of 
Minister's  Island,  which  at  high  tide  was  only  accessible 


Covenhoven  265 

from  the  mainland  by  boat,  and  built  a  spacious  and  har- 
monious summer  home.  Using  local  materials  and  local 
labour,  he  was  his  own  architect  and  landscape  gar- 
dener, laying  out  roads  and  gardens,  hedges,  orchards, 
and  bathing  pools.  The  property  consisted  of  some  six 
hundred  acres  of  farming  and  timber  lands,  and,  erect- 
ing large  barns,  stables,  and  silos,  and  importing  from 
Pennsylvania  a  herd  of  Dutch  belted  cattle,  he  engaged 
in  farming  operations  which,  if  a  costly  amusement,  sup- 
plied his  household  and  his  employees  with  the  best  of 
fresh  food.  He  imported  choice  flowers  and  plants, 
and  with  his  daughter  made  a  special  study  of  mush- 
rooms, which  grew  in  great  profusion  and  variety  on 
the  wooded  slopes  of  the  island. 

To  this  beautiful  estate  he  gave  the  family  name  of 
Covenhoven,  and  declared  that  its  inaccessibility  from 
the  mainland  at  high  tide  was  an  added  attraction,  in- 
asmuch as  his  "chief  object  was  to  get  away  from  the 
world."  But  he  loved  company,  and  his  friends  were 
few  in  number  who  could  not  bear  witness  to  the  charm 
and  hospitality  of  Covenhoven. 

With  the  townspeople  he  made  himself  perfectly  at 
home  and  formed  ties  of  mutual  friendliness  and  kindli- 
ness which  grew  ever  stronger  with  the  passing  of  the 
years.  His  enthusiastic  praises  quickly  drew  others  to 
St.  Andrews,  and  he  was  able  to  visit  Shaughnessy,  C. 
R.  Hosmer,  George  B.  Hopkins,  and  other  close  and  in- 
timate friends  at  their  summer  homes  on  the  mainland. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  purchased  and  ran  an  hotel,  and 
for  three  months  in  the  year  the  little  town  became  a 
fashionable  resort. 

Van  Home  always  thought  in  terms  of  bigness  and 
liked  big  things:  big  houses,  "fat  and  bulgy  like  my- 
self/' big  roofs,  doors,  windows,  and  big  spaces;  and 


266     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

farming  a  few  hundred  acres  at  St.  Andrews  did  not 
satisfy  his  soul.  In  1898  he  purchased  four  thousand 
acres  of  land  at  Selkirk  in  Manitoba,  the  gateway  to 
the  prairies,  and  engaged  in  wheat  growing  there  on  a 
large  scale,  with  the  declared  purpose  of  providing 
travelers  and  immigrants  with  an  object  lesson  on  their 
first  view  of  western  farming  country.  There  he  br-ed 
cattle  from  imported  shorthorn  stock. 

Throughout  the  nineties  he  continued  assiduously 
to  add  to  his  collections  of  ceramics  and  paintings  and 
to  paint  many -pictures  himself.  His  collection  of  Japa- 
nese pottery,  as  one  chosen  to  illustrate  historically  the 
development  of  the  art,  had  become  one  of  the  finest 
private  collections  in  the  world.  The  establishment  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Steamship  service  to  the  Orient 
had  given  him  a  great  reputation  in  Japan,  and  while 
his  agents  sought  to  pick  up  interesting  examples  in  that 
country,  he  was  from  time  to  time  the  recipient  of  valu- 
able gifts  of  jars  and  vases  from  Japanese  statesmen 
and  leading  business  men.  By  reading  and  by  studying 
his  own  collection  and  the  larger  collections  of  the  great 
museums,  he  acquired  a  special  critical  knowledge,  in 
which,  on  the  American  continent,  he  only  deferred  to 
Professor  Morse  of  Boston.  He  loved  the  form,  the 
colouring,  and  the  glazing  of  pieces  wrought  by  the 
hands  of  the  master-potters ;  and  he  knew  them  so  well 
that  when  a  Japanese  dealer  wished  him  to  make  pur- 
chases from  a  new  collection,  he  was  able,  though  blind- 
folded, by  his  hands  and  the  touch  of  his  fingers  alone, 
to  give,  in  respect  of  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  specimens 
submitted,  the  names  of  the  artists,  long  dead  and  gone, 
who  had  designed  them,  and  of  the  kilns,  now  nonexist- 
ent, where  they  had  been  fired.  He  had  confined  his 


Art  Collections  267 

systematic  collection  of  earthen  ware  to  the  Japanese, 
but  he  found  delight  in  beauty  of  design  and  craftsman- 
ship in  every  form,  and  his  household  treasures  com- 
prised many  fine  examples  of  the  Moorish  and  other 
schools.  He  was,  indeed,  beginning  to  regret  that  he 
had  not  devoted  to  Chinese  porcelains  the  time  and 
money  he  had  given  to  the  Japanese. 

His  passion  for  paintings  was  ever  growing  and 
widening.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  lives 
and  the  work  of  the  old  masters,  and  he  knew  the  his- 
tory and  the  ownership  of  a  very  large  number  of  the 
world's  most  celebrated  pictures.  He  was  continu- 
ally adding  to  a  comprehensive  working  library  of 
critical,  illustrative,  and  historical  literature  on  the 
subject,  which  he  greedily  absorbed,  and  which,  sup- 
ported by  a  prodigious  memory,  qualified  him  to  dis- 
cuss the  periods  and  the  merits  of  the  masters  with 
the  best  of  professional  critics.  He  had  spent  sev- 
eral holidays  in  studying  the  art  treasures  of  the  great 
galleries  and  collections  in  Europe  and  the  United 
States,  and  was  well  known  to  the  dealers  in  London, 
Paris,  and  New  York.  A  lover  of  beauty  and  per- 
fection in  every  guise,  he  added  examples  of  every 
school  to  his  collection,  but  he  had  come  to  admire  most 
the  Dutch  and  Spanish  masters.  Canvases  by  Rem- 
brandt, Hals,  Velasquez,  Cuyp,  Terburg,  Ruisdael, 
Goya,  El  Greco,  Mauve,  Renoir,  Reynolds,  Gainsbor- 
ough, Turner,  Constable,  Hogarth,  Holbein,  Guardi, 
Tiepolo,  Gericault,  Millet,  Courbet,  and  many  others  had 
been  added  to  his  earlier  acquisitions,  as  well  as  works 
by  famous  Japanese  and  Chinese  artists.  He  never 
tired  of  showing  his  pictures,  and  loved  to  sit  before 
them  and  let  them  sink  into  his  soul.  More  perhaps 


268     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

than  anything  else  in  the  world  they  appealed  to  his  emo- 
tions as  well  as  to  his  intellect.  Art,  for  him,  was  more 
than  a  passion;  it  was  a  necessity. 

Art  dealers  found  Van  Home  unique  among  collec- 
tors on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  His  familiarity  with 
the  prices  obtained  in  the  auction-marts  of  London  and 
Paris  gave  him  almost  a  professional  knowledge  of  mar- 
ket values,  and  combined  with  his  instinctive  apprecia- 
tion of  the  merits  of  a  picture  to  lend  unusual  weight 
to  his  opinion.  His  means  did  not  allow  him  to  compete 
with  many  far  wealthier  collectors,  and  but  rarely  to 
indulge  himself  with  the  choicest  specimens  of  the  works 
of  the  great  masters.  He  followed  his  own  judgment 
in  the  selection  of  the  canvases  he  bought,  and  although 
he  coveted  examples  of  all  masters  and  all  schools,  he 
weeded  out  of  his  collection  from  time  to  time  any 
pictures  which  had  ceased  to  please  him. 

"Never  buy  a  picture,"  he  said,  "that  you  do  not  fall 
in  love  with,  or  it  will  always  be  an  incubus  and  a  source 
of  dissatisfaction.  The  purchase  of  a  picture,  like  the 
selection  of  a  wife,  can  hardly  be  done  by  proxy.'1 

The  authenticity  of  some  of  his  purchases  was  sub- 
sequently questioned  by  experts,  and  he  had  much 
amusement  in  argument  and  contention  over  them. 
Like  the  man  from  Missouri,  he  "had  to  be  shown,"  and 
he  placed  little  faith  in  the  infallibility  of  expert  opin- 
ions. He  admitted  "the  unpleasantness  of  paying  a 
Rembrandt  price  for  a  Ferdinand  Bols,"  but  reminded 
experts  that  they  did  not  agree  among  themselves;  that 
authoritative  opinion  was  adverse  to  the  authenticity  of 
several  works  attributed  to  Velasquez  in  the  great  muse- 
ums of  art;  and  that  since  the  beginning  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  "the  whole  pack  of  old  Italians  had  been 
reshuffled,  and  so  with  the  early  Flemish."  He  sup- 


A  Painter  of  Eminent  Talent  269 

ported  the  conclusion  that  "pictures  are  inherently  good 
or  bad,  and  it  does  n't  matter  a  damn  whether  a  great 
man  painted  the  poor  one  or  an  unknown  man  painted 
the  fine  one." 

The  balance  of  expert  opinion  was  eventually  ad- 
verse to  a  large  Constable  which  had  the  place  of  honour 
in  his  dining-room,  but  he  was  more  than  compensated 
for  this  by  the  confirmation  of  a  Rembrandt  and  a  Velas- 
quez which  he  had  bought  in  spite  of  some  doubts  ex- 
pressed about  their  origin. 

Far  more  frequently  than  in  the  strenuous  eighties 
he  painted  as  the  mood  seized  him,  but  almost  always  in 
the  late  hours  of  the  night,  transferring  to  canvas  some 
cherished  recollection  of  a  bit  of  landscape  that  had 
caught  his  fancy  weeks  or  months  before,  or  elaborating 
a  rough  sketch  of  some  sylvan  scene  on  Minister's 
Island.  His  painting  betrayed  the  lack  of  a  trained 
technique,  but  his  drawing  was  good  and  showed  espe- 
cially an  intimate  and  loving  knowledge  of  the  anatomy 
and  structure  of  trees.  His  sense  of  colour  was  true, 
but  working  by  artificial  light  was  sometimes  produc- 
tive of  wrong  tones  which  an  inadequate  knowledge  of 
values  prevented  him  from  correcting.  He  followed  no 
school  and  copied  no  one,  striving  to  get  the  results  he 
desired  by  his  own  methods.  His  work,  therefore, 
sometimes  naive,  was  always  sincere,,  and  he  painted 
many  charming  pieces,  several  of  which  became  prized 
possessions  of  his  friends.  They  were  always  painted 
hurriedly,  and  sometimes  failed  to  do  justice  to  pow- 
ers which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  critic,  Dr.  August 
Mayer,  entitle  him  to  be  considered  aa  landscape-painter 
of  thoroughly  eminent  talent."  He  believed  spontaneity 
to  be  the  most  admirable  quality  in  art,  as  it  is  the 
most  charming  in  social  intercourse;  and  he  once  sug- 


270     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

gested,  as  a  possible  way  to  secure  it,  the  attempt  to 
paint  at  least  one  picture  a  day,  in  seven  minutes  by  the 
watch,  every  day  for  two  or  three  months.  Persistent 
effort,  he  thought,  would  bring  success  to  any  normal 


man  or  woman. 

u 


Don't  be  discouraged,"  he  wrote  to  an  amateur,  "by 
any  less  than  four  dozen  consecutive  failures.  When 
you  'get  there/  it  will  be  worth  while  and  a  joy  to  you 
forever.  The  knack  once  acquired,  it  will  be  like  skat- 
ing on  good  ice.  There  will  be  no  labour  or  worry 
about  it." 

Whether  or  not  he  believed  spontaneity  or  inspiration 
to  depend  on  rapidity  of  execution,  it  was  rather  with 
the  boyish  motive,  which  he  never  lost,  of  displaying 
and,  indeed,  of  directing  attention  to  his  unusual  powers 
that  he  found  as  much  pleasure  in  the  speed  with  which 
he  worked  as  in  the  merit  of  the  work  itself.  He  loved 
to  astonish  his  friends  with  the  statement  that  he  had 
painted  this  picture  or  that  in  one,  two,  or  three  hours, 
or  even  in  thirty  minutes. 

"Sir  William/'  said  his  friend,  Wickenden,  who  often 
painted  with  him,  "wanted  to  paint  by  telegraph." 

Once,  when  Wyatt  Eaton  was  his  guest  and  had  ac- 
companied Lady  Van  Home  and  Miss  Van  Home  to 
an  art  exhibition,  he  painted  a  picture,  framed  it,  and 
hung  it.  Upon  Eaton's  return,  after  an  absence  of 
three  hours,  he  showed  it  to  him  as  his  most  recent 
purchase,  and  as  that  it  was  quite  genuinely  accepted 
and  admired  by  Eaton.  Akin  to  this  incident  was  a 
form  of  practical  joke  in  which  he  frequently  indulged. 
He  would  pass  off  his  own  paintings  on  the  unwary,  and 
especially  on  the  pretentious  but  uninformed  visitor,  as 
works  of  one  of  the  old  masters. 

His  best  work,  undoubtedly,  was  done  in  a  series  of 


Painting  "by  Telegraph"  271 

water-colour  drawings  of  his  Japanese  pottery,  with 
which  he  intended  to  illustrate  a  catalogue  of  his  col- 
lection. These  reproduced  the  form  and  the  glazes  of 
the  originals  with  a  delicacy  and  fidelity  which  would 
have  gladdened  the  eye  of  Ruskin.  But  here  again  the 
really  astonishing  excellence  of  the  drawings  could  not 
satisfy  his  thirst  for  impressiveness  and  surprise. 

"I  allow  myself  twenty  minutes  for  each  of  these.  I 
time  myself,  and  expect  to  do  three  of  them  within  an 
hour." 

Self-taught,  he  held  that  art  cannot  be  taught  in 
schools. 

"The  so-called  Art  Schools  of  which  I  have  knowledge 
I  believe  to  be  doing  more  harm  than  good  in  attracting 
young  people  from  more  useful  employment.  ...  I  am 
very  much  disposed  to  let  Art  take  care  of  itself  as  it 
has  always  done  since  Art  has  been.  I  should  be  very 
much  more  interested  in  a  cooking-school.  ...  I  have 
never  yet  seen  a  real  work  of  art  which  could  in  any  way 
be  traced  to  the  influence  of  an  Art  School.  Of  course 
I  distinguish  between  Art  schools  and  study  under  a 
Master  after  an  aptitude  for  some  branch  of  art  has  be- 
come manifest." 

He  reminded  a  young  American  painter,  who  would 
leave  a  certain  big  city  because  he  had  few  opportuni- 
ties to  develop  his  art,  but  many  to  commercialize  it,  that 
his  salvation  might  not  lie  in  the  picturesque  West  for 
which  he  hankered,  but  in  using  the  materials  and  inspi- 
ration he  had  at  hand,  even  as  Rembrandt's  greatest 
works  had  been  inspired  by  his  studies  of  Jews  in  the 
Ghetto  of  The  Hague.  Asked  to  contribute  to  the  edu- 
cation of  a  young  Canadian  artist  in  Paris,  he  wrote : 

"If  the  young  man's  sojourn  in  Paris,  which  should 
be  useful  in  perfecting  his  art,  leads  him  to  the  imita- 


272     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

tion  of  French  ideas  and  methods,  I  shall  consider  this 
money  very  badly  spent — and  in  saying  this  I  do  not 
mean  that  French  ideas  and  methods  are  not  good,  but 
that  originality  is  a  priceless  jewel,  and  a  painter  who 
is  not  original  is  only  a  decorator  at  best." 

The  things  which  interested  him  and  stimulated  his 
curiosity  were  without  number.  A  visitor  discovered 
him  trying  to  decipher  the  ideographs  on  Chinese  porce- 
lains by  the  aid  of  German- Japanese  and  Japanese- 
Chinese  dictionaries.  If  he  went  into  any  commercial 
enterprise,  he  was  at  once  impelled  to  acquire  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  machinery  and  processes  of  manu- 
facture, the  sources  of  raw  materials,  and  the  cost  and 
methods  of  distribution  of  the  products.  A  love  of 
flowers  led  him  to  botany  and  horticulture ;  and  the  pur- 
chase of  cattle  opened  up  the  whole  field  of  stock- 
breeding. 

With  his  directorships,  his  farms,  his  painting  and 
other  hobbies,  he  had  felt  that  he  would  have  ample  oc- 
cupation for  his  leisure  when  he  gave  up  the  headship  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific.  His  Californian  holiday,  under- 
taken in  the  first  flush  of  relief  from  the  cares  of  rail- 
way operation,  had  somewhat  disillusionized  him,  and 
those  who  were  close  to  him  did  not  for  one  moment  be- 
lieve that  he  would  settle  dowrn  to  a  life  of  comparative 
unproductiveness.  He  was  only  fifty-six  years  of  age, 
and  his  phenomenal  vitality  and  strength  were  un- 
impaired. 

"I  don't  know  how  you  do  it,  Van  Home,"  said  W. 
L.  Elkins  of  Philadelphia  one  night  in  the  grill-room 
of  the  Touraine  Hotel  in  Boston;  "you  seem  to  work 
hard  all  the  time,  play  hard  all  the  time,  and  here  you 
are  taking  a  big  dinner  and  champagne  at  midnight." 

"Oh,"  replied  Van  Home,  "I  eat  all  I  can;  I  drink 


Distaste  for  Politics  273 

all  I  can ;  I  smoke  all  I  can ;  and  I  don't  care  a  damn  for 
anything." 

Canadians  who  appreciated  his  powers  expressed  the 
hope  that  he  would  now  enter  the  political  arena.  In 
reply  to  one  of  these  he  said,  "Nothing  could  induce  me 
to  go  into  politics.  I  would  as  soon  think  of  becoming  a 
preacher/'  He  was  popularly  supposed  to  have  Con- 
servative leanings;  the  Conservative  party,  then  in  op- 
position, was  without  effective  leadership ;  and,  the  wish 
being  father  to  the  thought,  both  he  and  E.  B.  Osier  of 
Toronto,  another  director  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  were 
mentioned  for  the  direction  of  the  party.  In  answering 
a  provocatory  letter  from  the  editor  of  the  "Toronto 
Globe,'5  intended  to  clear  the  air  of  these  rumours,  he 
wrote : 

"I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the  C.  P.  R.  is  pushing  Mr. 
Osier  forward  for  the  leadership  of  the  Conservative 
party.  We  are  not  such  idiots.  Sir  John  Abbott 
stepped  from  our  board  into  the  Premiership,  and  he 
seemingly  felt  bound  to  prove  to  the  country  that  he  was 
free  from  any  C.  P.  R.  taint  or  influence,  and  adopted 
the  course  so  common  to  weak  men  in  such  cases.  In 
endeavouring  to  appear  upright  in  regard  to  the  C.  P. 
R.,  he  leaned  backwards  so  far  that  he  could  only  see 
the  sky.  No,  we  do  not  wish  to  see  any  of  our  Direc- 
tors in  the  premiership.  I  am  afraid  that  I  could  hardly 
trust  myself  in  such  a  matter,  although  I  have  more  re- 
gard for  the  C.  P.  R.  than  for  anything  else  in  the 
world,  aside  from  my  wife  and  children." 

A  stream  of  invitations  flowed  in  from  every  quarter 
of  the  continent,  as  well  as  from  South  America,  Europe, 
and  China,  to  participate  in  schemes  for  building  rail- 
ways, developing  electric  power,  mining,  and  manufac- 
turing. But  beyond  taking  an  interest  in  a  street  rail- 


274     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

way  in  Demerara  and  in  an  ironworks  in  Pennsylvania, 
he  passed  them  by  and  began  seriously  to  plan  a  long 
cherished  visit  to  Japan.  There  he  was  assured  of  a 
royal  reception.  The  inauguration  of  the  Pacific  steam- 
ship service  had  brought  him  the  special  favour  of  the 
Japanese  Emperor  and  government.  He  had  the  per- 
sonal friendship  of  many  Japanese  statesmen,  none  of 
whom  visited  the  United  States  or  Canada  without  pay- 
ing him  a  visit  and  finding  that,  besides  his  love  of  Japa- 
nese art,  he  had  an  unusual  knowledge  of  Japanese  his- 
tory and  a  sympathetic  understanding  and  admiration  of 
their  culture  and  national  aspirations.  He  considered 
the  Marquis  Ito  the  greatest  statesman  of  his  time  in  any 
country.  But  the  certainty  of  receiving  a  splendid  hos- 
pitality and  lavish  attentions  in  Japan  was  not  without 
its  drawbacks.  He  disliked  ostentation  of  every  kind 
and  looked  forward  with  something  akin  to  dread  to  the 
ceremonial  observances  which  would  mark  his  visit. 
While  he  was  weighing  the  pleasures  and  disadvantages 
of  the  trip,  his  mind  was  diverted  to  an  altogether  dif- 
ferent project. 

The  Spanish-American  War  had  focussed  the  eyes 
of  the  world  upon  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  from  the 
day  when  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  demanded 
the  withdrawal  of  Spain,  it  was  manifest  that  American 
capital  and  energy  would  play  an  important  role  in  the 
future  development  of  the  island.  Some  of  Van 
Home's  friends — General  Alger,  Vice-President  Ho- 
bart,  Senator  Proctor,  and  Senor  Quesada — suggested 
that  he  should  undertake  the  electrification  of  the  Ha- 
vana tramway  system,  which  was  then  operated  by 
mules.  As  an  opportunity  for  investment  the  proposal 
attracted  him,  and  he  invited  the  cooperation  of  William 
MacKenzie  of  Toronto  and  others  who  had  been  asso- 


First  Visit  to  Cuba  275 

ciated  with  him  in  the  organization  and  operation  of 
electric  railways.  When,  in  July,  1898,  Spain  signed 
articles  of  capitulation,  their  agent  was  on  the  first  pas- 
senger-boat to  leave  New  York  for  Havana.  But  three 
other  groups  or  syndicates  were  already  in  the  field,  and 
although  they  acquired  some  minor  concessions,  the  Van 
Horne-MacKenzie  group,  after  a  close  and  bitter  fight, 
lost  the  principal  franchise  to  two  of  the  rival  syndi- 
cates. These  amalgamated,  and  invited  Van  Home  to 
accept  a  seat  on  their  directorate  when  they  took  over 
the  concessions  obtained  by  him  and  his  associates. 

This  transaction  led  to  a  visit  to  Cuba  in  January, 
1900. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

I9OO-O2.  CUBA  AND  THE  CUBA  COMPANY.  ORGAN- 
IZATION. T.  F.  RYAN.  RAILWAY  CONSTRUCTION. 
THE  RIGHT  OF  WAY.  A  GENERAL  RAILWAY  LAW. 
GENERAL  LEONARD  WOOD.  CELEBRATION  AT  CAM- 
AGUEY.  OPENING  OF  RAILWAY. 

AFTER  four  hundred  years  of  Spanish  misrule 
and  a   century   of   successive   revolutions   the 
United   States  had  liberated  the  Cuban  peo- 
ple.    Spain   had  finally  evacuated   the   colony   a   year 
earlier,  and  the  island  was  being  administered  by  a 
military   governor,    General   Leonard   Wood,    pending 
the  inauguration  of  a  stable  civil  government  based 
on  popular  election. 

The  eastern  provinces  had  been  devastated  by  inces- 
sant guerilla  warfare.  The  cane  fields  had  been  largely 
destroyed,  and  the  cane  had  been  overgrown  with  weeds 
and  brush.  Cattle-raisers  had  lost  everything  and  it 
was  difficult  to  find  a  cow  or  an  ox.  Horses  were  few 
and  in  wretched  condition.  Mining  had  ceased;  all 
industries  were  practically  dead.  The  people  were  with- 
out clothing,  and  evidences  of  great  suffering  were 
found  on  every  hand.  Everywhere  there  was  entire 
disregard  of  every  sanitary  law,  and  the  death  rate  from 
hunger  and  disease  was  extremely  high.  Wise  and 
effective  measures  of  temporary  relief  were  instituted 
by  the  military  government.  Food,  clothing,  and  medi- 
cal supplies  were  distributed,  and  through  assistance  to 

agricultural  communities  and  employment  on  new  mu- 

276 


The  Cuba  Company  277 

nicipal  works,  a  beginning  was  being  made  to  restore 
the  people  to  a  self-supporting  status. 

The  railway  system  of  the  island  comprised  1135 
miles  of  railway.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  these  radiated 
from  Havana  and  were  owned  by  English  companies. 
There  were  also  some  965  miles  of  private  railway  lines, 
constructed  to  carry  sugar-cane  to  the  mills.  In  what 
are  now  the  three  eastern  provinces  of  Santa  Clara, 
Camaguey,  and  Oriente,  the  largest  and  richest  in  the 
country  and  comprising  three  quarters  of  the  total  area 
of  the  island,  there  were  only  a  little  over  one  hundred 
miles  of  small  railways.  In  the  days  of  Spanish  domin- 
ion everyone  had  conceded  the  desirability  of  a  line  of 
railway  which  would  connect  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Cama- 
guey, and  eastern  Santa  Clara  with  Havana,  the  seat  of 
the  island's  government  and  the  centre  of  its  commercial 
life.  Every  principle  of  politics  and  economics  had  de- 
manded communication  between  the  leading  cities  of 
the  middle  and  eastern  provinces  and  the  western  end 
of  the  island.  But  under  Spanish  rule  the  construction 
of  such  a  railway  was  accepted  as  impossible.  The 
rivers  of  Cuba  are  largely  unnavigable,  and  settlement 
was  confined  to  a  narrow  coastal  strip.  The  interior 
was  unsettled  and  undeveloped,  the  country  being  un- 
used, save  for  occasional  herds  of  cattle. 

Traveling  in  company  with  General  Alger,  the  Amer- 
ican Secretary  for  War,  and  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of 
State,  Van  Home  heard  them  discuss  the  desirability, 
on  strategical  grounds,  of  building  a  railway  through 
the  eastern  provinces,  and  also  the  apparently  insur- 
mountable obstacle  which  the  Foraker  Act  had  placed 
in  the  way  of  such  a  project  being  undertaken  as  a  pri- 
vate enterprise.  This  legislation  had  been  enacted  by 
the  American  Congress  in  order  to  protect  the  Cubans 


278     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  the  interim  administration  from  exploitation  by 
promoters  and  irresponsible  speculators,  and  prohibited 
the  granting  of  any  franchises  or  concessions  of  any 
kind  during  the  American  occupation.  About  the  same 
time  Van  Home  met  Percival  Farquhar  of  New  York, 
who  was  the  representative  of  the  group  which  had  ob- 
tained control  of  the  Havana  tramways.  Farquhar 
gave  him  a  glowing  description  of  the  interior.  There 
were  vast  stretches  of  well-watered  land  unequalled  for 
the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  and  tobacco  and  unsur- 
passed for  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  magnificent  groves 
containing  mahogany,  cedar,  ebony,  and  many  other 
valuable  hardwood  trees.  There  were,  also,  great  un- 
worked  deposits  of  iron,  copper,  asphaltum,  and  other 
minerals. 

This  account  of  the  fertility  and  richness  of  the 
island  kindled  Van  Home's  imagination,  and  he  burned 
to  have  a  hand  in  its  development.  From  that  moment 
his  mind  was  bent  upon  the  construction  of  a  railway. 
And  how  to  override  or  evade  the  provisions  of  the 
Foraker  Act  was  a  problem  after  his  own  heart.  Many 
months  would  elapse  before  a  convention  of  the  Cuban 
people  could  be  called  and  a  republican  government 
established.  Until  that  happened  there  was  no  sove- 
reign authority  which  could  grant  powers  of  expropria- 
tion for  the  right-of-way  of  a  railway  or  permit  the 
construction  of  a  railway  across  navigable  waters,  public 
roads,  or  public  property.  Pondering  over  this  situa- 
tion, it  suddenly  flashed  upon  Van  Home  that  there  was 
in  all  probability  no  law  which  would  prevent  the  acquisi- 
tion of  parcels  of  land  or  the  construction  of  a  railway 
thereon  by  their  owner.  To  construct  a  railway  in 
small  pieces  in  this  way,  without  rights  of  expropria- 


Building  a  Railway  Without  a  Charter        279 

tion  or  eminent  domain  and  without  any  assurance  what- 
ever, beyond  his  own  faith,  that  the  future  Cuban  gov- 
ernment would  grant  the  necessary  charter  powers,  in- 
volved great  risks  and  implied  great  courage.  But  hav- 
ing hit  upon  the  plan,  Van  Home  did  not  hesitate  to 
adopt  it. 

On  his  arrival  in  New  York  he  immediately  consulted 
Howard  Mansfield,  a  lawyer  of  his  acquaintance. 

"Do  you  know  anything  of  the  Foraker  Act?"  he 
asked. 

"I  do." 

"Is  there  anything  in  it  to  prevent  an  individual  or 
a  corporation  owning  or  acquiring  lands  in  Cuba  from 
building  a  railway  on  various  pieces  of  such  property, 
taking  the  chance  of  ever  being  able  to  operate  the  rail- 
way as  a  whole?" 

"No." 

"Well,  then,  I  'm  going  to  form  a  company  to  do  that 
and  want  you  to  get  out  the  necessary  incorporation 
papers." 

Van  Home's  next  step  was  to  get  the  sanction  and,  if 
possible,  the  support  of  the  American  government,  and, 
accompanied  by  General  Grenville  Dodge,  he  went  to 
Washington  to  lay  his  plans  before  President  McKinley. 
From  a  political  standpoint  the  project  had  much  to 
commend  it.  The  construction  of  the  railway  would 
not  only  provide  immediate  employment  for  a  consider- 
able number  of  the  population,  but  it  was  also  the  first 
requisite  for  the  development  of  Cuban  resources. 
When  completed,  it  would  ensure  the  speedy  transporta- 
tion of  troops  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  island  and  to  any 
part  of  the  interior  and  would  itself  be  the  best  possible 
agency  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  peace.  The 


280     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

President  expressed  approval  of  the  project  and  prom- 
ised to  do  what  he  properly  could  to  have  it  protected  in 
law  before  the  Occupation  ended. 

Within  two  months  from  his  departure  for  Cuba  Van 
Home  was  back  in  Montreal,  as  busily  occupied  in  the 
organization  of  a  new  company  as  he  had  been  eighteen 
years  earlier  in  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
He  shed  like  a  garment  the  comparative  apathy  and  las- 
situde which  had  characterized  the  last  few  years  of  his 
presidency  of  the  Canadian  road.  With  new  and  im- 
portant creative  work  before  him,  he  was  once  more  in 
his  element  and  completely  happy.  Moreover,  he  was 
now  engaged  on  the  one  great  enterprise  that  owed  its 
origin  entirely  to  his  own  initiative. 

"Perhaps  you  are  right  in  thinking,"  he  explained  to 
his  friend,  Meysenburg,  "that  I  am  making  a  mistake 
in  putting  on  more  harness  and  going  into  the  Cuban 
and  other  enterprises,  but  my  trip  to  California  a  year 
ago  satisfied  me  that  my  happiness  was  not  in  the  direc- 
tion of  taking  things  easy  and  that  I  would  have  to 
keep  as  busy  as  possible  for  the  rest  of  my  days.  Per- 
haps, if  I  had  knocked  off  ten  years  ago,  it  might  have 
been  different.  All  the  things  which  I  thought  leisure 
would  give  me  time  to  enjoy  seemed  flavourless  when  I 
got  to  them.  I  can  be  happy  in  working  out  schemes, 
and  in  no  other  way.  The  Cuban  one  is  the  most  inter- 
esting I  have  ever  encountered,  and  I  am  looking  for- 
ward to  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  carrying  it  through, 
and  perhaps  profit  as  well — a  few  dozen  Rembrandts 
and  such  things,  which,  I  think,  will  quite  fill  my  ca- 
pacity for  enjoyment." 

From  the  moment  the  Cuban  enterprise  took  shape  in 
Van  Home's  mind  he  regarded  the  building  and  opera- 
tion of  a  few  hundred  miles  of  railway  merely  as  a  first 


The  Cuba  Company  281 

step  to  larger  and  more  comprehensive  schemes.  Incor- 
porating the  Cuba  Company  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey  in  April,  1900,  he  stated  its  object  to  be, 
"to  develop  the  resources  of  the  Island  in  all  practicable 
ways." 

He  retained  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  checks  imposed 
from  time  to  time  upon  his  plans  for  rapid  development 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  both  by  the  caution  and  con- 
servatism of  his  co-directors  and  by  the  difficulty,  often 
the  impossibility,  of  obtaining  the  necessary  capital. 
He  was  determined  to  labour  under  no  such  difficulties 
in  his  new  undertaking.  He  would,  therefore,  keep  in 
his  own  hands  the  entire  control  of  the  Cuba  Company, 
and  seek  as  his  associates  in  the  enterprise  men  who 
would  have  faith  in  his  management  and  whose  means 
were  so  large  that  they  could  afford  to  wait  indefinitely 
for  dividends,  and  could  be  relied  on  to  furnish  any  ad- 
ditional capital  that  might  be  required.  To  ensure  the 
stock  of  the  company  being  retained  in  such  hands,  he 
fixed  the  capital  stock  at  $8,000,000,  divided  into  160 
shares  of  $50,000  each. 

He  found  a  sufficient  number  of  "the  right  kind  of 
men"  with  the  greatest  ease.  The  entire  capital  stock 
was  subscribed  within  a  week,  and  as  soon  as  his  plans 
became  known  he  was  obliged  to  dodge  eager  applicants 
for  shares.  To  one  of  these  he  wrote : 

"When  I  went  down  to  New  York  with  my  Cuban 
scheme  I  found  myself  in  the  position  of  a  small  school- 
boy with  his  pocket  full  of  bon-bons,  and  all  the  shares 
that  I  would  not  let  go  willingly  were  taken  away  from 
me.  I  came  away  stripped  of  all  but  a  small  holding  for 
myself.  There  is  no  chance  to  get  any,  unless  the  capi- 
tal should  be  enlarged  later  on." 

On  the  clear  understanding  that  his  project  was  one 


282     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  slow  but  profitable  development,  he  had  obtained  the 
most  imposing  list  of  subscribers  ever  associated  in  the 
foundation  of  a  single  commercial  enterprise.  It  in- 
cluded, among  others,  John  W.  Mackay,  J.  J.  Hill,  E.  J. 
Berwind,  General  Dodge,  Gilbert  Haven,  Henry  M. 
Flagler,  Levi  P.  Morton,  Henry  M.  Whitney,  P.  A.  B. 
Widener,  Anthony  Brady,  W.  L.  Elkins,  General 
Thomas,  William  C.  Whitney,  Henry  Bull,  Thomas 
Dolan,  H.  Walters,  R.  B.  Angus,  T.  G.  Shaughnessy, 
C.  R.  Hosmer,  George  B.  Hopkins,  and  Thomas  F.  Ryan. 
The  aggregate  wealth  of  «this  group  was  estimated  in 
many  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars. 

Van  Home  had  difficulty  in  persuading  Ryan  to  join. 
Ryan,  who  had  made  a  large  fortune  in  tobacco  and 
street  railways,  and  who  was  a  prominent  figure  in  finan- 
cial circles  as  the  active  force  behind  the  Morton  Trust 
Company,  thought  it  "a  great  waste  of  time  for  Van 
Home  to  turn  his  back  on  an  Empire  and  go  chasing  a 
Rabbit;  for  that  great  constructive  mind,  with  its  dec- 
ades of  experience,  to  bury  itself  down  in  the  jungle." 
He  asked  Henry  M.  Whitney  to  join  with  him  in  per- 
suading Van  Home  to  drop  his  Cuban  plans  and  take  up 
something  else.  At  a  dinner  given  by  Whitney,  Ryan 
proposed  that  he  and  his  group  should  obtain  control  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  that  Van  Home  should  return 
to  it  as  its  president  and  work  out  immense  ramifica- 
tions of  its  existing  system  on  both  sides  of  the  interna- 
tional boundary.  Such  a  scheme  would  give  them  in- 
dustrial dominion  over  North  America  and  Van  Home 
an  empire  to  rule  over. 

Van  Home  would  not  entertain  this  startling  pro- 
posal for  a  moment.  It  was  in  direct  conflict  with  the 
aims  of  the  builders  of  the  Canadian  road,  and  his  par- 
ticipation in  it  would  savour  of  the  rankest  treachery. 


The  Cuba  Company  283 

He  told  Ryan  that  the  Canadians,  who  looked  upon  the 
Canadian  Pacific  as  the  backbone  of  their  country,  would 
never  allow  it  to  pass  into  the  control  of  Americans. 
Finally,  he  pointed  out  that  it  would  be  extremely  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  for  any  group  of  Americans  to 
get  control  of  the  system,  for,  in  consequence  of  the  pol- 
icy steadfastly  pursued  by  Lord  Mountstephen  and  sup- 
ported by  himself,  the  great  bulk  of  Canadian  Pacific 
stock  was  distributed  among  thousands  of  small  holders, 
a  large  majority  of  whom  were  resident  in  England. 
Ryan,  who  was  amazed  to  learn  that  the  builders  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  held  only  a  few  thousand  shares  of  its 
stock  and  had  profited  little  from  their  opportunities, 
found  the  last  argument  conclusive  and,  with  great  re- 
luctance, abandoned  his  scheme.  Converted  by  Van 
Home's  magnetic  persuasiveness,  he  agreed  to  join  the 
Cuba  Company  and  give  it  the  support  of  the  Morton 
Trust  Company,  which  was  its  financial  backer  for  sev- 
eral years. 

Van  Home's  love  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  the 
master  passion  of  his  life.  He  cherished  its  interests 
unswervingly.  It  was  his  dearest  offspring,  the  Absa- 
lom of  his  loins.  Three  years  later  Ryan  consulted  him 
concerning  the  project  of  a  new  railway  from  the  Koo- 
tenay  Valley  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  His  condemnation 
was  decisive. 

"The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  can  not  and  will  not 
surrender  that  region  to  any  other  company.  .  .  .  The 
only  commendable  thing  I  see  in  this  enterprise  is  the 
prospectus,  which  should  take  high  rank  among  imag- 
inative works." 

Having  established  the  head  office  of  the  Cuba  Com- 
pany in  the  city  of  New  York,  Van  Home  sent  engineers 
to  Cuba  to  make  a  preliminary  survey.  With  them 


284     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

went  L.  A.  Hamilton,  the  land  commissioner  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the 
natural  resources  along  the  route  to  be  traversed.  His 
next  step  was  to  purchase  a  large  tract  of  land  at  An- 
tilla  on  Nipe  Bay  and  a  little  railway,  the  Sabanilla  and 
Moroto,  which  ran  a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles  from 
the  port  of  Santiago,  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  pro- 
jected railway.  Materials  for  the  contruction  of  the 
railway  were  ordered,  and  Van  Home  proposed  to  begin 
building  at  the  end  of  the  autumn  rainy  season.  His 
prospecting  engineers  having  returned  and  reported  that 
a  line  could  be  built  along  the  proposed  route  with  easy 
gradients  and  through  a  country  of  remarkable  agricul- 
tural possibilities,  location  surveys  were  begun  in  July 
from  Santa  Clara. 

The  Cuban  government  was  not  yet  inaugurated,  and 
the  people,  uncertain  of  the  purpose  of  the  Americans 
and  fearful  lest  they  had  only  changed  masters,  sus- 
pected every  form  of  American  activity.  But  during 
his  visit  to  the  island  Van  Home  had  formed  the  opin- 
ion that  they  had  a  fine  sense  of  honour  and  would  re- 
spond to  fair  and  courteous  treatment.  Therefore,  be- 
fore starting  negotiations  for  the  right-of-way,  he  em- 
ployed two  able  and  influential  Cubans  to  go  through 
the  eastern  provinces  and  explain  the  good-will  and  in- 
tentions of  the  company  and  the  benefits  which  the  com- 
munity would  derive  from  its  operations.  He  also  ad- 
dressed courteous  and  diplomatic  letters  to  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  eastern  provinces,  giving  detailed  infor- 
mation of  the  project.  Invariable  and  impeccable  cour- 
tesy was  to  be  the  keynote  of  all  dealings  with  the 
Cubans. 

"Deal  with  them  throughout  with  politeness,"  he  in- 
structed the  chief  engineer,  "whatever  the  provocation 


Building  a  Railway  Without  a  Charter        285 

to  do  otherwise  may  be,  for  we  cannot  afford  to  antag- 
onize even  the  humblest  individual  if  it  can  be  avoided. 
Our  engineers  will  give  the  first  impression  of  the  Cuba 
Company  to  the  people  in  the  districts  where  they  are 
operating,  and  they  should  seek  in  every  way  to  create 
among  these  people  a  pleasant  impression.  .  .  .  Anyone 
unable  to  control  his  temper  and  who  violates  the  rule 
which  should  be  made  in  this  regard  should  be  promptly 
got  rid  of.  I  am  anxious  that  the  people  throughout 
the  country  should  become  impressed  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible with  the  desire  of  the  Cuba  Company  to  treat  every- 
body with  the  greatest  consideration  and  to  deal  with 
them  in  all  matters  with  perfect  fairness.  .  .  .  " 

These  methods  of  approach  were  richly  rewarded. 
Convinced  of  the  company's  good-will  and  of  the  bene- 
fits they  would  receive  from  the  operation  of  the  rail- 
way, proprietors  gave  the  land  necessary  for  the  rail- 
way without  compensation.  In  cases  where  absentee 
Spanish  landlords  were  inclined  to  hold  out  for  payment, 
their  neighbours  united  in  creating  a  public  opinion 
which  forced  them  to  a  similar  liberality.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  Van  Home  told  his  shareholders,  "so  far  our 
rights-of-way  have  cost  us  nothing  beyond  the  salaries 
and  expenses  of  our  agents."  When,  sometime  later, 
President  McKinley  asked  him  how  he  had  accomplished 
the  purchase  of  the  right-of-way  and  begun  to  build  a 
railway  without  a  charter,  he  replied,  "Mr.  President,  I 
went  to  them  with  my  hat  in  my  hand."  "I  think  I  un- 
derstand," said  the  President.  To  his  friends  he  ex- 
plained that  whenever  he  met  a  Cuban,  he  bowed  first 
and  he  bowed  last. 

In  these  early  days  of  his  company  Van  Home  was  well 
served  by  his  double  nationality.  Americans  concerned 
in  the  administration  of  the  island  had  full  confidence  in 


286     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

him  as  being  one  of  themselves.  The  Spanish  Cubans, 
who  looked  upon  Americans  with  jealousy  and  suspicion, 
trusted  him  as  a  Briton.  They  knew  that  there  were  no 
knights  in  the  United  States. 

Although  possession  of  rights-of-way  had  been  so 
easily  and  inexpensively  acquired  from  private  owners, 
difficulties  were  frequently  experienced  Jn  obtaining  a 
clear  legal  title  to  them.  Regarding  a  loose  system  of 
land-titles  as  prejudicial  to  all  future  settlement,  Van 
Home  recommended  to  General  Wood  the  introduction 
of  the  Torrens  system  of  registration,  which  was  used 
in  Manitoba  and  other  western  provinces  of  Canada. 
He  urged  that  speedy  attention  should  be  given  to  so  fun- 
damental a  matter,  and  that  surveys  of  the  land  should 
be  made  and  baselines  and  meridians  established  as  a  pre- 
paratory step  to  the  reestablishment  of  agriculture.  He 
also  advocated  the  expropriation  by  the  government  of 
large  areas  held  idle  by  absentee  owners  or  on  account 
of  disputed  ownership,  and  their  subdivision  and  resale 
in  small  parcels  to  those  who  would  immediately  culti- 
vate them.  This,  he  thought,  should  be  followed  up  by 
taxation  of  land.  x 

"A  system  of  land-taxation,"  he  wrote  General  Wood, 
"is  the  most  effective  and  equitable  way  of  securing  the 
greatest  possible  utilization  of  lands,  and  affords  at  the 
same  time  the  best  safeguard  against  holding  lands  in 
disuse  for  speculative  purposes.  It  affords,  moreover, 
the  most  certain  and  uniform  revenue  to  the  state. 
Freedom  from  land  taxation  or  merely  nominal  land 
taxation  comes  from  landlordism,  which  you  certainly 
do  not  wish  to  continue  or  promote  in  Cuba.  The  coun- 
try can  only  reach  its  highest  prosperity  and  the  greatest 
stability  of  government  through  the  widest  possible 
ownership  of  the  lands  by  the  people  who  cultivate  them. 


Building  a  Railway  Without  a  Charter        287 

In  countries  where  the  percentage  of  individuals  holding 
real  estate  is  greatest,  conservatism  prevails  and  insur- 
rections are  unknown.  .  .  ." 

As,  with  a  fine  instinct,  he  found  the  royal  road  to 
the  favour  of  the  Cubans  and  discarded  the  sharp  and 
rough-and-ready  methods  of  American  railway-build- 
ing, so  he  determined  at  all  costs  to  avoid  antagonizing 
the  railway  companies  already  operating  on  the  island. 
Unsupported  as  he  was  by  legal  authority,  any  other 
course  would  have  been  suicidal.  Having  no  charter, 
he  was  without  power  to  cross  another  railway,  and  he 
instructed  his  engineers  to  carry  their  line  clear  south 
of  the  Cuba  Central  Railway  running  north  from  Pla- 
cetas  del  Sur. 

While  his  engineers  were  locating  the  line  and  his 
agents  obtaining  rights-of-way,  Van  Home  was  prepar- 
ing for  the  work  of  construction  with  all  his  old  zest  for 
detail,  and  shipping  construction  supplies  and  mate- 
rials for  assemblage  at  Santiago,  Cienfuegos,  and 
Santa  Clara  in  advance  of  their  use.  Grading  was 
begun  at  both  ends  of  the  line  in  November,  1900,  with 
Spanish  and  Cuban  labourers. 

The  final  location  of  the  railway  was  on  a  line  which, 
running  from  Santa  Clara  through  Camaguey  to  the 
port  of  Santiago,  would  bisect  the  greater  part  of  the 
island  and  serve  as  a  trunk  line  for  the  branches  run- 
ning north  and  south  which  could  be  constructed  later. 
It  was  found  necessary  to  follow  the  watershed  and 
head  the  streams  which  widen  and  deepen  rapidly  in 
their  descent  to  the  sea  upon  either  side. 

In  1901  Van  Home  went  again  to  Cuba,  to  see  con- 
struction well  started  and  explore  the  interior  for  him- 
self. Six  weeks'  work  and  travel,  which  included  a  ride 
from  San  Luis  to  Nipe  Bay,  strengthened  his  enthusi- 


288     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

asm  for  the  enterprise.  Getting  off  his  mule  at  a  point 
called  Palmerito  one  evening,  his  waistcoat  caught  on 
the  pommel  of  the  stock  saddle,  and  he  fell  heavily  to 
the  ground  on  his  back.  Miller  A.  Smith,  the  chief 
engineer,  rushed  up,  ejaculating,  "My  God,  Sir  William, 
are  you  hurt?"  "No,"  sputtered  Van  Home,  getting 
to  his  feet  and  dusting  himself,  "that  is  the  way  I  always 
get  off." 

The  company  now  had  definite  ownership  of  lands  for 
terminals,  construction  bases  and  several  townsites,  to- 
gether with  a  fairly  continuous  strip  for  the  right-of- 
way  thirty  metres  in  width  and  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  in  length.  Power  to  cross  streams,  roads, 
and  public  property  was  becoming  a  matter  of  pressing 
necessity.  There  were,  too,  a  few  landowners  whom 
he  could  not  bring  to  terms,  and  to  deal  with  them  expro- 
priation powers  were  essential.  A  general  election  had 
been  held  throughout  Cuba  in  September  for  the  pur- 
pose of  choosing  delegates  to  a  convention,  to  frame 
and  adopt  a  constitution,  and  to  determine  with  the 
government  of  the  United  States  the  relations  to  exist 
between  that  government  and  the  government  of  Cuba. 
The  convention  had  met  in  Havana  in  November,  and 
was  still  engaged  in  framing  the  constitution. 

With  the  difficulties  of  a  charterless  position  ever  in 
his  mind,  Van  Home  had  already  drafted  a  general  rail- 
way law  for  the  island.  General  Wood  had  told  him 
that  he  had  thought  of  applying  to  Cuba  the  railway  law 
of  Texas.  But  this  was,  in  Van  Home's  opinion,  dis- 
tinctly inferior  to  the  railway  law  of  Canada,  and  he 
based  his  draft  on  the  Canadian  model.  He  spent  sev- 
eral evenings  with  General  Dodge  over  its  revision  and 
adaptation  to  Cuban  needs,  and  submitted  it  to  General 


Framing  a  General  Railway  Law  289 

Wood.  After  careful  scrutiny  and  a  few  amendments 
by  experts  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  it 
was  presented  by  General  Wood  to  Elihu  Root,  Secre- 
tary of  War  at  Washington,  who  pronounced  it  to  be 
the  best  railway  law  ever  drawn  up. 

"Sir  William,"  said  General  Wood,  "contributed  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  foundation  work  on  this  law, 
which  covered  everything  from  the  local  procedure 
necessary  to  make  preliminary  surveys  to  the  final  wind- 
ing-up  of  the  affairs  of  a  railroad  in  case  of  its  disso- 
lution. The  law  covered  the  relations  between  the  pub- 
lic and  the  road,  and  looked  to  the  adequate  protection 
of  the  railroad  personnel  and  the  public.  It  was  so  fair 
and  evidently  just  to  all  interests  that  very  few  changes 
were  suggested  by  the  United  States  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  whose  railway  experts  were  invited 
to  Cuba  and  went  very  thoroughly  over  the  law." 

The  Cuban  convention  adopted  a  constitution  for  the 
Republic  of  Cuba  on  February  21,  1901.  But  before 
that  date  the  necessity  for  expropriation  powers  and 
rights  to  cross  public  property  had  become  acute.  Van 
Home  went  twice  to  Washington  to  plead  with  the  Pres- 
ident, Secretary  Root,  Senators  Platt,  Aldrich,  and  For- 
aker,  and  others  officially  concerned  in  Cuban  relations 
for  the  immediate  passage  of  the  railway  law.  Friction 
had  developed,  however,  between  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment and  the  delegates  to  the  convention  who,  stand- 
ing out  for  unequivocal  independence  and  sovereignty 
of  the  island,  objected  to  incorporating  in  the  consti- 
tution certain  provisions  concerning  the  right  of  inter- 
vention, coaling  and  naval  stations,  and  other  matters 
upon  which  the  United  States  government  was  de- 
termined to  insist.  In  these  circumstances  no  progress 


290     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

could  be  made  with  the  general  railway  law,  and  the 
Foraker  Act,  which  prohibited  the  grant  of  public  con- 
cessions or  franchises,  was  still  in  effect. 

Bent  on  carrying  his  project  through,  and  stimulated, 
as  always,  by  the  challenge  of  difficulties,  Van  Home 
evolved  from  his  inexhaustible  inventiveness  a  way  to 
overcome  this  one.  The  Foraker  Act  said  nothing 
about  a  "revocable  licence. "  Might  not  a  revocable  li- 
cence be  granted  to  a  builder  who  was  willing  to  assume 
the  risk  of  having  the  licence  modified  or  cancelled  by 
the  Cuban  government  after  the  close  of  American  oc- 
cupation? The  railway  would  incontestably  benefit 
Cuba.  By  securing  the  opinions  of  prominent  Cubans 
on  the  questions  at  issue  and  communicating  them  to 
members  of  the  Foreign  Relations  Committee  of  the 
Senate,  he  was  actively  promoting  a  better  understand- 
ing between  the  representatives  of  the  two  peoples. 
The  authorities  in  Washington  had  confidence  in  him, 
and  they  agreed  that  such  a  licence  as  he  described  might 
be  issued. 

Encouraged  by  their  concurrence,  Van  Home  went  to 
Cuba  to  obtain  the  licence  from  the  military  governor. 
Wishing  to  strengthen  his  case  with  the  force  of  public 
opinion,  he  sent  Farquhar  to  the  island  to  secure  peti- 
tions praying  for  the  immediate  passage  of  a  general 
railway  law,  in  order  to  promote  the  building  of  rail- 
ways for  the  development  of  the  country  and  to  enable 
it  to  take  speedy  advantage  of  the  road  under  construc- 
tion. He  devised  the  method  of  obtaining  the  petitions. 
Construction  was  suddenly  stopped  at  some  crossing 
in  every  municipality  along  the  line,  and  the  labour- 
ers thrown  out  of  work.  Farmers  and  merchants,  as 
well  as  labourers,  suffered  from  the  interruption  of  the 
flow  of  American  dollars  and  were  given  an  object  les- 


Building  a  Railway  Without  a  Charter        291 

son  of  the  benefits  they  enjoyed  from  the  company's  op- 
erations. They  were  glad  to  sign  petitions  which  might 
ensure  their  continuance.  These  had  due  effect  at  Ha- 
vana and  Washington.  The  United  States  govern- 
ment promised  to  forward  Van  Home's  plans  and  the 
general  railway  law  in  every  possible  way. 

Van  Home  now  approached  General  Wood  and  in 
diplomatic  fashion  asked  for  something  more  than  he 
knew  he  would  get,  namely,  an  unconditional  permission 
to  effect  the  necessary  crossings.  General  Wood  was 
heartily  in  favour  of  the  railway,  had  noted  the  petitions 
from  the  municipalities,  and  was  sincerely  desirous  of 
helping  him,  but  the  Foraker  Act  stood  in  the  way.  He 
could  grant  no  concessions,  but  promised  to  give  the 
matter  his  most  serious  consideration  and  see  what  he 
could  do.  Van  Home  withdrew,  and  hastened  to  the 
Cuban  who  was  General  Wood's  confidential  adviser  on 
such  matters.  He  unfolded  to  him  his  idea  of  a  rev- 
ocable licence,  and  intimated  that  if  he  and  General 
Wood  could  devise  nothing  better,  he  was  willing  to 
continue  construction  on  it.  These  tactics  were  suc- 
cessful. The  Governor  took  counsel  with  his  adviser 
and  decided  to  grant  the  revocable  licence. 

Construction  was  resumed  and  continued  without  fur- 
ther interruption.  Some  trouble  developed  with  the 
London  executive  of  the  Cuba  Central  Railways  which 
opposed  Van  Home's  building  further  west  than  Sancti 
Spiritus,  and  still  more  strongly  opposed  his  building 
into  Santa  Clara,  where  they  had  their  terminus.  He 
met  these  objections  in  a  conciliatory  manner,  returned 
sweet  and  friendly  answers,  and  intended  to  keep  the 
correspondence  going  all  through  the  summer  until  his 
line  had  advanced  beyond  all  danger  of  interference. 

Exercising  an  immediate  supervision  over  the  details 


292     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  construction,  Van  Home  continued  to  press  the  pas- 
sage of  the  general  railway  law  and  to  assist  the  Amer- 
ican administration  in  combatting  the  doubts  and  fears 
of  the  Cuban  people  concerning  the  sincerity  of  the 
United  States  in  establishing  their  independence.  He 
first  suggested  to  Secretary  Root  that  the  Cuban  flag 
should  fly  with  the  American  over  the  naval  and  coaling 
stations  which  the  United  States  government  planned 
to  retain  on  the  island.  This  was  a  small  detail,  but  it 
had  the  effect  of  propitiating  the  Cubans  and  removing 
some  of  their  objections  to  the  stations. 

With  some  six  thousand  men  employed,  as  rapid  pro- 
gress was  made  in  the  construction  of  the  road  as  was 
possible  in  an  undeveloped  tropical  country.  Free  hos- 
pital service  and  medical  attendance  were  provided  for 
the  men,  and  rigid  rules  of  sanitation  enforced.  These 
combined  with  the  wholesome  trade  winds  to  keep  the 
men  in  good  health,  and  the  mortality  was  low. 

Streams  and  public  highways  were  crossed  under  au- 
thority of  the  revocable  licence,  which,  as  Van  Home 
widely  and  publicly  announced,  put  his  enterprise  "en- 
tirely at  the  mercy  of  the  people  of  Cuba."  But  he  was 
willing  to  do  this  because  of  his  "faith  in  the  honour  and 
justice  of  the  Cuban  people." 

On  February  7,  1902,  the  general  railway  law  was 
promulgated  by  an  Order  of  the  military  governor. 
Understanding  that  Van  Home  had  been  instrumental 
in  outlining  the  law  and  fearing  that  it  was  devised 
to  injure  their  properties  in  order  that  he  might  buy 
them  cheaply,  the  officials  of  the  western  Cuban  rail- 
ways received  the  law  with  suspicion.  He  stoutly 
denied  such  a  motive  to  the  president  of  one  of  the 
companies,  asserting  that  if  he  had  wished  the  col- 
lapse of  the  railways,  the  Texas  law  would  have  better 


Building  a  "Railway  Without  a  Charter        293 

served  his  purpose.  He  contended  that,  in  basing  the 
Cuban  upon  the  Canadian  law,  he  had  conserved  the 
interests  of  all  the  other  companies,  as  well  as  his  own. 
The  correctness  of  this  contention  was  eventually  con- 
ceded. 

Following  adoption  of  the  general  railway  law,  a 
board  of  railway  commissioners,  similar  to  the  Canadian 
board,  was  appointed  to  regulate  and  control  the  traffic- 
rates  of  all  Cuban  railways.  The  railways  in  operation 
were  requested  to  frame  and  submit  a  schedule  of  uni- 
form rates  and  classifications.  This  they  failed  to  do, 
and  well-intentioned  officials  of  the  government  com- 
piled an  intricate  classification  on  the  lines  of  west- 
ern American  schedules,  which  was  described  by  Van 
Home  as  "approximating  the  old  Missouri  classification 
of  'plunder  and  lumber/  '  He  assisted  the  commission- 
ers in  framing  a  new  schedule,  which  prescribed  max- 
imum rates  substantially  below  those  of  hitherto  exist- 
ing tariffs.  This  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  people, 
but  met  with  vehement  opposition  from  the  established 
railway  companies.  Their  directors  decided  to  ignore 
it,  and  instructed  their  Cuban  officials  accordingly.  The 
military  governor  interpreted  this  course  as  defiance  of 
the  law  and  the  government,  and  threatened  severe 
measures. 

Van  Home  again  took  a  hand  in  the  affair.  He  was 
experiencing  again  the  difficulty,  which  he  had  so  often 
found  in  his  early  days  in  Canada,  of  securing  unity  of 
action  from,  and  setting  up  harmonious  relations  with, 
remote  boards  of  directors  in  London.  He  wrote  to 
financial  friends  in  that  city,  asking  them  to  prevail 
upon  these  boards  to  abandon  "their  supreme  belief  in 
the  efficacy  and  fitness  of  the  rules  and  instructions  laid 
down  in  London";  to  give  their  Cuban  officials  full 


294     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

powers  to  deal  with  questions  as  they  arose,  or,  failing 
this,  to  send  out  to  Cuba  the  best  and  broadest-minded 
man  among  them,  not  "one  of  the  narrow-minded,  self- 
sufficient  damn  fools  so  often  sent  out  from  London  to 
various  centres  in  such  cases/' 

He  fixed  upon  the  ancient  city  of  Camaguey,  then 
called  Puerto  Principe,  for  the  headquarters  of  the  rail- 
way, and  decided  to  mark  the  turning  of  the  first  sod 
at  that  point  with  a  public  celebration.  The  influence 
of  the  officials  of  a  small  railway  running  from  the 
city  to  the  northern  coast  was  exerted,  however,  to  pre- 
vent the  public  from  attending  the  celebration.  The 
attendance  was  wretchedly  small,  but,  undaunted  by 
his  chilly  reception  and  determined  to  win  the  favour 
of  the  people,  Van  Home  accepted  the  situation  as 
though  every  circumstance  was  propitious.  With 
courtly  deference  he  handed  the  spade  to  Nina  Ade- 
lina,  the  little  daughter  of  Mayor  Barreras,  and  she 
performed  the  ceremony.  On  his  return  to  New  York 
he  bought  her  a  gold  watch  which  bore  a  suitable 
inscription,  and  had  an  illuminated  address  prepared  to 
commemorate  "the  interest  she  manifested  in  the  com- 
pany's undertaking"  and  for  "so  graciously  inaugurat- 
ing its  work  at  Puerto  Principe."  When  he  next  visited 
the  city,  bringing  with  him  the  watch  and  the  address, 
the  people  had  come  to  realize  the  benefits  they  would 
derive  from  the  new  railway,  and  there  was  a  genuine 
festival  in  the  flower-decked  patio  where  the  presenta- 
tion ceremony  took  place.  Some  months  later  the  tide 
of  good  feeling  had  risen  so  high  that  he  was  formally 
adopted  by  the  civic  authorities  as  a  "son  of  Camaguey." 

The  grading  of  the  road  was  completed  in  March, 
1902,  but  a  labour  shortage,  the  non-arrival  of  bridge 
material,  and  damage  by  rains  delayed  completion  of 


Building  a  Railway  Without  a  Charter       295 

the  line.  Its  estimated  cost  was  largely  exceeded,  and 
construction  was  handicapped  by  financial  pressure  and 
the  need  for  rigorous  retrenchment. 

On  December  i,  1902,  the  Cuba  Railroad  was  opened 
for  traffic.  It  was  solidly  built,  with  bridges  of  stone 
or  steel,  with  easy  grades  and  few  and  light  curves. 
The  track  was  of  standard  gauge  and  of  heavy  and  per- 
manent construction,  and  though  few  of  the  passenger- 
cars  of  red  and  white  mahogany  were  delivered  in  time, 
the  road  was  well  equipped  for  its  inaugural  run.  The 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  of  eastern  Cuba  was  raised 
to  the  highest  pitch.  Till  then  it  had  taken  ten  days  to 
travel  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other ;  now  the 
journey  could  be  made  in  a  luxurious  sleeping-car  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Van  Home,  who  had  gone  to  Cuba 
for  the  occasion,  found  himself  the  adopted  son  not 
only  of  Camaguey,  but  of  all  the  eastern  provinces.  In 
the  midst  of  showers  of  congratulatory  telegrams  and 
addresses,  he  said  that  the  work  had  only  begun,  and 
to  make  it  a  success,  "it  is  only  necessary  that  we  should 
all  pull  together." 

Meanwhile  the  government  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba 
had  been  inaugurated  in  the  preceding  May  and  had 
taken  over  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  coun- 
try. Thereupon,  the  Foraker  Act  had  become  inopera- 
tive. But  by  that  time,  while  all  others  who  wished  to 
promote  railway-building  in  Cuba  had  been  held  back 
by  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  Van  Home  had  substan- 
tially completed  his  railway. 

The  road  had  been  built  without  subsidy  or  public 
aid  of  any  kind  through  a  region  where,  despite  an  offer 
of  government  guaranties,  the  old  regime  had  been  un- 
able to  find  men  bold  enough  for  the  task.  It  was  a 
monument  to  Van  Home's  faith  in  the  honour  of  the 


296     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 


Cubans  and  in  the  future  of  their  country.  Further- 
more, it  was  a  monument  to  the  Cubans'  sense  of  honour 
and  fair-dealing.  Remarkable,  if  not  unique,  in  Span- 
ish-American countries,  it  was  built  without  buying  any 
man  or  any  one's  influence. 

"The  Cuban  Railway  was  the  purest  big  enterprise 
I  Ve  ever  heard  about  in  North  or  South  America,"  said 
Farquhar,  who  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  under- 
taking. "There  was  not  one  dollar  spent  directly  or  in- 
directly in  influencing  legislation  or  the  people.  Sir 
William  relied  upon  the  fact  that  he  was  supplying  a 
desirable  public  utility.  He  merged  the  company's  in- 
terests with  the  community's,  and  went  ahead,  buying 
no  man.  There  was  one  time  I  wondered  if  we  could 
stick  to  Sir  William's  rule  in  this  respect.  However, 
we  got  through,  holding  to  our  principles.  It  was  a 
fine  and  most  rare  side  of  a  business  of  this  sort,  as 
creditable  to  the  Cuban  people  as  it  was  to  Sir  William." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

1903-05.  HARD  TIMES  IN  CUBA.  A  GOVERNMENT 
LOAN.  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.  THE  GUA- 
TEMALA RAILWAY.  DEATH  OF  MARY  VAN  HORNE. 

IT  is  impossible  to  follow  the  tracks  of  Van  Home's 
multitudinous  activities  during  the  first  eight  or 
nine  years  of  the  present  century.  Nor  is  it  pos- 
sible to  observe  anything  like  chronological  sequence  in 
describing  the  most  important  of  them.  He  was  now, 
at  sixty  years  of  age,  in  the  busiest  and  most  difficult 
period  of  his  life. 

"I  have  never,"  he  said,  "been  so  busy  as  I  have  been 
since  I  quit  business." 

He  could  never  again  put  forth  the  intensity  of  effort 
that  he  had  given  to  the  building  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific.  But  his  interests  now  were  vastly  more  numer- 
ous and  diversified.  The  supervision  of  the  Cuba  Com- 
pany's affairs  entailed  two,  three,  or  more  visits  of  sev- 
eral weeks'  duration  to  Cuba  every  year.  Its  head  office 
in  New  York  required  his  presence  for  days  and  weeks 
at  a  time.  His  holidays  at  Covenhoven  were  short 
and  broken.  During  his  brief  visits  to  Montreal  and 
his  family  he  was  feverishly  occupied  with  business. 
He  had  accepted  directorships  in  insurance  and  trust 
companies  in  New  York  and  Montreal,  and  in  a  number 
of  new  companies  engaged  in  building  railways,  street 
railways,  and  power  plants  in  Brazil,  Guatemala,  Mex- 
ico, and  elsewhere.  The  presidency  of  several  impor- 
tant Canadian  companies  imposed  inescapable  duties,  and 

297 


298     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

the  affairs  of  the  Laurentide  Pulp  Company  were  trou- 
blesome and  needed  unremitting  attention.  He  was  still 
the  chairman  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  board  and  a  mem- 
ber of  its  executive  committee,  and  was  so  identified 
with  the  road  in  the  public  mind  that  a  great  many 
people  continued  erroneously  to  regard  him  as  its  guid- 
ing genius.  This  was  particularly  true  of  people  in 
England,  where  the  chairman  of  a  railway  company 
is  its  executive  head;  and  it  resulted  in  a  large  cor- 
respondence. Moreover,  the  directors  and  shareholders 
of  the  road  were  now  seriously  perturbed  by  the  impend- 
ing shadow  of  a  giant  competitor  in  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific.  Van  Home  himself  was  scornfully  incredulous 
of  the  new  transcontinental  injuring  the  older  line,  but 
he  was  "first  and  last  and  all  the  time  for  the  Canadian 
Pacific  as  against  anything  else  in  the  world/'  and  he 
confessed  "that  an  attack  on  the  Northwest  should  ever 
come  from  the  north  is  something  I  never  dreamed  of." 
Happily,  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  so  firmly  en- 
trenched, so  prosperous,  and  so  ably  managed  by  Sir 
Thomas  Shaughnessy  that  it  could  withstand  any  com- 
petition or  any  conceivable  financial  strain;/XBut  this 
was  not  the  case  with  the  comparatively  new  undertak- 
ings directly  under  Van  Home's  own  management,  and 
the  financial  depression  of  1903  plunged  him  into  almost 
endless  worry  and  perplexity.  -  The  Cuba  Company,  nat- 
urally, gave  him  the  greatest  concern.  The  chief  pur- 
pose for  which  he  had  incorporated  it  was  the  develop- 
ment of  the  natural  resources  of  Cuba,  and  the  rail- 
way had  been  the  preliminary  step  to  its  accomplish- 
ment. --He  had  organized,  in  1902,  a  subsidiary  com- 
pany for  the  operation  of  the  road  under  the  name  of 
the  Cuba  Railroad  Company,  which  purchased  the  line 
from  the  parent  company  with  its  own  bonds  and  pre- 


The  Cuba  Company  299 

ferred  and  common  stock.  Lumber-mills  were  already 
well  established,  and  he  had  intended  to  engage  on  a 
large  scale  in  the  production  of  sugar.  He  had  prepared 
himself  for  this  by  a  study  of  the  industry  in  all  its 
aspects  and  by  absorbing  all  that  he  could  learn  from 
experts  whom  he  employed  or  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact. 

But  the  financial  depression  was  already  sufficiently 
pronounced  to  make  it  difficult  to  raise  capital,  and  the 
state  of  the  Cuban  sugar  industry  was  unfavourable  to 
investment.  -  The  construction  of  the  Cuba  railroad  had 
been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  eastern  provinces  as 
a  direct  incentive  to  the  rebuilding  of  homes  and  the 
reestablishment  of  trade ;  and  in  that  part  of  the  island 
there  was  something  like  a  return,  to  the  very  moderate 
standard  of  prosperity  which  had  obtained  before  the 
insurrection  of  Gomez.  The  general  industrial  condi- 
tion of  the  island,  however,  was  poor,  and  particularly 
so  in  the  western  provinces,  where  the  sugar  plantations 
principally  lay.  Destruction  of  sugar  and  tobacco  crops 
had  entailed  severe  losses  upon  the  planters.  Their  es- 
tates were  heavily  mortgaged,  their  machinery  anti- 
quated, and  they  could  not  obtain  money  for  handling 
their  crops,  except  at  a  very  high  rate  of  interest. 

The  condition  of  the  industry  had  become  the  more 
acute  through  the  prevailing  low  price  of  sugar,  due 
to  competition  with  the  bounty-fed  beet  sugar  of  Ger- 
many, which  could  be  sold  below  the  cost  of  the  Cuban 
product.  New  methods  of  production  on  a  large  scale 
were  necessary  to  meet  this  competition,  and  capital 
could  not  be  raised  for  the  purpose  so  long  as  the  trade 
relations  of  Cuba  with  the  United  States  remained  un- 
certain. The  sugars  of  Porto  Rico  and  Hawaii  were 
already  admitted  to  the  American  market  free  of  duty, 


300     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

and  the  Cuban  planters  had  sought,  in  1901,  to  secure 
a  reduction  of  the  American  tariff  in  favour  of  the 
Cuban  product.  The  United  States  government  was 
desirous  of  settling  this  question  on  a  basis  of  reciprocity 
before  the  withdrawal  of  American  troops,  but  the  Pres- 
ident's proposals  were  thwarted  for  two  years  by  the 
powerful  opposition  of  the  American  Beet  Sugar  Asso- 
ciation and  the  cane-sugar  planters  of  Louisiana. 

Van  Home  strongly  favoured  a  reduction  of  fifty  per 
cent,  in  the  tariff. 

"I  know,"  he  remarked,  "that  if  I  were  the  Emperor 
William  of  the  United  States,  I  would  not  let  England, 
Germany,  and  France  supply  the  Cuba  market  very  long 
with  the  great  bulk  of  manufactured  articles  consumed 
there." 

After  a  prolonged  fight  the  Cuban  treaty  bill,  which 
embodied  a  provision  for  the  admission  of  Cuban-prod- 
ucts to  the  United  States  at  a  reduction  of  twenty  per 
cent.,  passed  both  Houses  in  December,  1903. 

Meanwhile  the  financial  stringency  had  become  pro- 
found and,  notwithstanding  the  enormous  wealth  of  his 
associates,  Van  Home  was  unable  to  procure  capital  for 
a  sugar-mill.  —The  construction  of  the  railway  had 
doubled  the  value  of  all  the  land  in  its  vicinity,  but  the 
increase  in  value  brought  no  profit  to  the  Cuba  Com- 
pany. Jacob  Schiff,  who  visited  the  island  and  was  one 
of  the  shareholders,  said  that  the  undertaking  must  be 
one  of  pure  philanthropy,  since  they  were  creating  such 
advantages  for  the  public  and  were  availing  themselves 
so  little  of  the  opportunity  to  increase  their  own  wealth. 

There  was  nothing  of  the  philanthropist  in  Van 
Home.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  no  mere  money- 
maker. He  built  for  the  joy  of  building,  and  his  mind 
was  ever  on  the  work.  He  was  over-sanguine  about 


The  Cuba  Company  301 

results.  And  his  incurable  optimism  drove  him  for- 
ward without  his  taking  time  and  thought  to  frame  the 
substantial  foundation  for  his  enterprises  which  would 
have  been  the  first  and  chief  care  of  the  cautious  and 
farsighted  financier..  He  now  began  to  regret  that  he 
had  limited  the  capital  of  the  Cuba  Company  to  $8,000,- 
ooo  at  a  time  when  he  could  have  obtained  a  very  much 
larger  sum  for  the  asking.  The  immense  wealth  of 
the  shareholders  turned  out  to  be  of  no  advantage. 
During  the  period  of  construction  they  had  been  too 
busy  with  other  affairs  to  share  his  interest  in  Cuba 
or  even  to  visit  it.  The  financial  depression  found  them 
more  deeply  concerned  over  investments  at  stake  in  a 
larger  field.  Nor  were  they,  like  English  investors,  ac- 
customed to  nurse  ventures  in  foreign  lands.  Van 
Home  had  made  it  clear  that  the  enterprise  was  one  of 
development  and  that  he  would  have  to  create  traffic  and 
build  up  the  country  as  had  been  done  with  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  but  some  of  the  shareholders  had  misunderstood 
or  forgotten  this,  and  now,  when  the  company  began  to 
need  new  money,  they  assumed  that  his  calculations  had 
gone  astray  and,  as  he  had  not  taken  their  money  when 
they  had  it  to  give,  they  would  not  make  any  fresh  effort 
to  provide  it.  \JThe  railway  was  self-supporting,  but 
there  was  no  prospect  of  dividends  in  the  immediate 
future.  Looking  only  to  results  in  terms  of  cash,  they 
did  not  share  his  enthusiasm  for  the  work  or  his  keen 
delight  in  opening  up  a  new  country  and  in  winning 
for  himself  and  the  company  the  cordial  and,  indeed, 
affectionate  regard  of  the  Cubans. 

"I  never  had  to  do  with  a  railway  that  started  off  so 
well,"  he  said. 

But  money  was  not  forthcoming  for  the  sugar-mills. 
Money  for  the  railroad  was  almost  as  hard  to  get.  In 


302     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

October  he  formally  asked  the  company's  shareholders 
to  buy  $1,000,000  bonds  and  $2,000,000  preferred  stock 
of  the  railroad.  Only  a  small  portion  was  subscribed, 
and  it  was  not  until  December,  after  months  -of  effort 
and  disappointment,  that  a  chance  meeting  with  Robert 
Fleming,  one  of  the  shrewdest  Scotch  financiers  in  Lon- 
don, led  to  a  sale  of  a  large  block  of  securities. 

With  this  new  money  Van  Home  acquired  the  old 
government  barrack  at  Camagiiey  and  converted  it  into 
a  unique  modern  hotel,  searching  Cuba  for  the  most 
striking  and  effective  plants  and  flowers  to  beautify  the 
patio  and  gardens.  Wharves  were  built  at  Antilla,  and 
other  steps  taken  to  make  the  branch  to  Nipe  Bay  remun- 
erative. Additions  were  made  to  the  rolling-stock  and 
other  equipment.  He  renewed  to  the  Cuban  govern- 
ment his  recommendations  to  General  Wood  in  1900  for 
the  expropriation  of  large  idle  areas  and  their  subdivi- 
sion into  small  holdings,  and  advocated  the  institution 
on  the  island  of  three  experimental  agricultural  stations. 

The  prospects  of  the  railway  were  growing  brighter. 
A  steamship  service  was  inaugurated  between  Santiago 
and  Jamaica.  Sawmills  and  cattle-ranches  were  spring- 
ing up  along  the  main  line,  and  the  sugar  and  tobacco 
crops  were  excellent.  Van  Home  instituted  a  campaign 
of  advertising,  employing  artists,  photographers,  and 
writers  to  depict  the  beauties  and  extol  the  advantages 
of  the  country.  The  campaign  had  only  been  well  begun 
when  a  bad  storm  caused  extensive  damage  to  the  rail- 
road; and  he  again  found  himself  harassed  by  financial 
difficulties  which  his  rich  associates  were  indisposed  to 
relieve. 

"It  would  be  putting  it  mildly,"  he  wrote,  "to  say 
that  I  have  felt  very  much  disgusted  at  the  lack  of  sup- 
port I  received/' 


The  Cuba  Company  303 

In  his  extremity  Van  Home  asked  the  Cuban  govern- 
ment for  a  loan  equal  to  the  interest  charges  on  the  road 
for  a  period  of  three  years.  The  request  was  favourably 
received,  and  was  strongly  commended  to  the  Cuban 
Congress  by  President  Palma.  The  Havana  press 
joined  with  prominent  Cubans  in  eulogizing  his  work. 
The  tribute  was  as  spontaneous  as  gratifying,  and  he 
was  deeply  moved  by  it.  The  loan  was  not  immediately 
sanctioned,  but  the  enthusiastic  endorsement  and  sup- 
port of  the  enterprise  by  the  Cuban  people  arrested  the 
attention  of  some  of  his  associates  and  rekindled  their 
interest.  A  general  recovery  from  the  financial  distress 
of  1903  had  taken  place.  They  now  decided  to  subscribe 
$2,725,000  toward  the  long-deferred  sugar  scheme,  and 
Robert  Fleming  bought  $700,000  debentures  issued  for 
the  same  purpose. 

The  subscription  was  no  sooner  made  than  Van  Home 
set  to  work  on  the  erection  of  a  sugar-mill  at  Jatibonico, 
with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
arrobas  daily.  The  structure. was  begun  in  November, 
1904,  machinery  was  installed,  and  by  March  thirty- 
three  hundred  acres  of  timber  and  brush  had  been 
cleared  and  planted  with  cane  at  Jatibonico  and  Tana. 
It  was  all  done  with  a  speed  unequalled  in  the  records  of 
Cuba. 

There  was  no  opposition  in  the  Cuban  Congress  to 
the  bill  authorizing  the  loan  to  the  railroad.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  loan,  amounting  to  about  $800,000, 
should  bear  no  interest.  Indeed,  some  members  wished 
the  transaction  to  take  the  form  of  a  free  gift  of  that 
sum  as  a  token  of  Cuban  gratitude.  But  owing  to  par- 
liamentary obstacles  arising  from  party  differences  over 
other  matters,  the  bill  made  slow  progress.  Eventually, 
it  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Senate  in  August, 


304     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

1905,  after  speeches  inspired  by  feelings  of  the  warmest 
cordiality  and  appreciations 

"The  passage  of  our  Bill  was  one  of  the  cleanest  trans- 
actions of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen,"  Van  Home  wrote 
Robert  Fleming.  "Our  experience  in  Cuba  in  this  re- 
gard, from  the  inception  of  the  enterprise  to  the  present 
time,  had  been  almost  unique,  and  proves  that  the  Span- 
ish-American people  have  been  much  misrepresented  and 
misunderstood.  My  experience  of  the  past  eighteen 
months  in  Guatemala  affords  additional  evidence  of 
this,  and  I  am  coming  to  believe  that  practically  all  of  the 
financial  and  other  sins  of  Central  and  South  American 
countries  have  been  mainly  due  to  Anglo-Saxon  ras- 
cals." 

This  warm  testimony  was  not  induced  by  his  satisfac- 
tion over  the  loan  and  the  gratifying  circumstances 
attending  its  sanction.  Some  months  earlier  he  had 
written  a  distinguished  journalist  who  intended  to  visit 
Cuba  and  to  write  a  series  of  articles  for  the  American 
press : 

Let  me  add  the  hope  that  you  will  be  an  exception  to  the  rule 
among  newspaper  correspondents  who  have  visited  Cuba  and 
have  almost  invariably  written  of  the  indolence,  shiftlessness  and 
dirtiness  of  the  Cubans,  for  this  is  untrue  and  unjust,  and  does 
harm  to  the  country,  and  is  most  exasperating  to  those  who  know 
the  facts.  Most  of  the  writers  seem  to  get  their  information  of 
this  character  from  a  lot  of  left-over  Americans,  chiefly  about  Ha- 
vana. ...  If  you  will  look  for  yourself,  you  will  see  that  the  Cu- 
bans are  fully  as  industrious  a  people  as  can  be  found  anywhere ; 
that  they  are  as  moral  as  any  people  north  of  them  and  vastly 
more  sober,  for  drunkenness  is  practically  unknown  among  them. 
You  will  find  them,  too,  at  least  as  honest  as  any  other  people, 
and  while  they  may  not  be  strong  in  point  of  religion,  their  re- 
lations in  life  are  governed  by  a  sense  of  honour  above  the  aver- 
age elsewhere — a  sense  of  honour  which  makes  them  good  cit- 
izens and  desirable  neighbours  and  friends. 


The  People  of  Cuba  305 

The  insurrection  left  many  of  the  people  extremely  poor,  and 
although  their  condition  has  greatly  improved,  some  of  them  are 
yet  poor  and  live  squalidly,  just  as  some  poor  people  in  the  North 
live.  There  are  occasional  rascals  in  Cuba,  but  I  have  read  of 
some  such  people  in  the  North. 

The  impressions  of  the  Cuban  people  which  prevail  in  the 
United  States  were  spread  just  after  the  war  by  returning  Amer- 
icans— soldiers  and  civilians — who  saw  only  a  ruined  country  and 
a  starving  people,  doing  nothing  because  of  nothing  to  do,  people 
who  looked  as  bad  as  we  would  in  similar  conditions. 

A  great  many  things  in  Cuba  seem  strange  and  crude  to  a 
Northern  man,  but  he  has  not  to  be  there  long  to  learn  that  the 
Cuban  methods  are  the  result  of  long  experience  with  climatic 
and  other  conditions,  and  that  he  has  as  much  to  learn  from  them 
as  they  from  him.  ...  As  to  sugar  and  tobacco,  Cuba  has 
nothing  to  learn  from  the  North,  but  much  to  teach.  .  .  . 

You  will  find  an  intelligent,  sober,  well-behaved  and  kindly 
people,  proud  of  their  country,  quite  able  to  govern  it  properly 
and  needing  no  charity  or  patronage,  and  I  earnestly  hope  that 
you  will  make  use  of  the  unusual  facilities  at  your  command  to 
make  this  known  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  if  you  find 
the  facts  are  as  I  have  stated  them.  .  .  . 

Cosmopolitan  in  thought  and  feeling,  Van  Home  had 
no  patience  with  the  arrogance,  nowhere,  except  in  Ger- 
many, more  common  than  in  North  America,  which 
ascribes  intellectual  and  physical  inferiority  to  other 
races,  and  he  practised  what  he  preached.  He  employed 
Cubans  wherever  possible  on  the  railroad,  and  had  begun 
early  to  have  young  Cubans  trained  for  the  more  re- 
sponsible positions.  The  Cubans  were  not  usually  mem- 
bers of  trades-unions,  and  the  American  conductors  and 
engineers  employed  on  the  line  objected  to  his  policy. 
He  instructed  the  manager,  who  was  himself  a  Cuban, 
to  make  it  clearly  understood  that  the  company  would  fill 
all  vacancies  with  Cubans,  and  that  no  employee  partici- 
pating in  a  strike  would  obtain  reemployment. 


306     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

His  experiences  in  Cuba  had  made  him  receptive  to 
the  problems  confronting  the  American  government 
in  the  pacification  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  in  1901 
he  had  suggested  to  his  friend,  Colonel  William  E. 
Dougherty,  then  in  command  at  Santa  Cruz,  that  the 
United  States  might  take  a  leaf  from  the  British  book 
and  control  the  people  by  subsidizing  the  native  chiefs,  as 
Great  Britain  had  subsidized  the  native  princes  of  India. 

In  January,  1903,  Secretary  of  War  Root  invited  him 
to  discuss  the  question  of  Philippine  railways.  The 
government  was  gravely  concerned  over  unrest  in  the 
islands,  and  believed  that  much  might  be  done  to  allay 
it  by  the  building  of  railways  and  other  economical  meas- 
ures. The  Secretary  of  War  referred  to  the  work  of  the 
Cuba  Company,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  with  its 
experience  of  work  in  a  tropical  climate,  its  Spanish- 
speaking  officers,  engineers,  and  foremen,  it  would  be 
more  competent  than  any  new  organization  to  carry  out 
the  contemplated  works.  He  wished  the  policy  which 
had  been  followed  with  great  success  by  the  Cuba  Com- 
pany to  be  repeated  in  the  Philippines.  He  finally  asked 
if  the  Cuba  Company  would  consider  the  proposal,  and 
Van  Home  intimated  that  they  would.  He  had  enjoyed 
every  moment  of  his  experience  in  Cuba,  and  he  looked 
forward  to  duplicating  in  the  islands  in  the  Pacific  the 
assistance  he  had  rendered  the  United  States  in  dispell- 
ing the  anti-American  prejudices  of  the  Cubans. 

As  a  first  step  he  interested  Thomas  F.  Ryan  and  a 
few  other  financiers,  and,  with  the  approval  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  sent  a  party  of  engineers  to  the  Philip- 
pines to  investigate  railway  conditions  and  to  make  a 
preliminary  report. 

There  was  already  one  line  of  railway,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  in  length,  on  the  island  of  Luzon, 


The  Philippine  Islands  307 

which  was  owned  by  an  English  company,  and  while 
Van  Home's  engineers  were  on  their  way  to  the  Philip- 
pines, Governor  Taft  granted  two  concessions  to  this 
company  for  lines  radiating  from  Manila  on  the  routes 
along  which  Secretary  Root  had  proposed  that  Van 
Home  should  build.  The  engineers  returned  in  mid- 
summer with  a  scheme  which  opened  up  "almost  endless 
possibilities"  and  promised  to  be  big  enough  in  execution 
and  results  to  gain  the  interest  of  leading  financiers. 

In  July  Van  Home  commenced  negotiations  for  the 
Manila  railway  and  the  concessions  granted  by  Gov- 
ernor Taft.  But  after  several  conferences  with  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  English  company  he  found  that  he 
could  make  no  headway,  for  their  chairman  refused  to 
discuss  the  future  of  the  road  until  the  United  States 
government  agreed  to  give  compensation  for  its  use  dur- 
ing the  insurrection.  Van  Home  concluded  that  the 
board  of  the  English  company  had  obtained  the  conces- 
sions from  Governor  Taft  in  order  to  block  the  govern- 
ment's plans  until  they  obtained  a  settlement  of  their 
claim,  and  that  an  arrangement  could  not  be  effected 
unless  the  Englishmen  were  made  to  understand  that 
"no  dog-in-the-manger  policy"  would  be  tolerated. 

The  matter  drifted  along  through  the  winter  of  1903- 
04.  Judge  Taft  became  Secretary  of  War,  and  Van 
Home  discussed  the  situation  with  him  and  his  prede- 
cessor in  office  in  March,  1904,  formally  declaring  his 
willingness  to  construct  the  proposed  railways  if  per- 
mitted to  follow  the  construction  policy  of  the  Cuba 
Company. 

"I  have  considered  this  subject,"  he  wrote  Secretary 
Taft,  "from  a  physical  and  commercial  standpoint, 
rather  than  as  a  stock  market  proposition — as  a  question 
of  railroad  building  and  subsequent  operation,  and  not 


308     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

as  a  question  of  immediate  profit  from  construction  or 
of  making  a  financial  turn,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  my 
views  as  to  the  basis  of  an  arrangement  and  as  to  how 
the  works  should  be  carried  out  differ  widely  from  those 
who  view  it  from  a  strictly  financial  standpoint;  but  I 
am  prepared  on  the  part  of  myself  and  my  associates  to 
undertake  the  contemplated  works  on  terms  based  on  a 
belief  in  the  commercial  success  of  the  lines  to  be  built — 
terms  which  shall  leave  the  constructing  and  operating 
company  dependent,  as  regards  profit,  upon  the  future 
working  of  the  railroads;  and  also  under  such  condi- 
tions as  shall,  with  the  greatest  certainty,  secure  the  mili- 
tary, political,  and  economic  conditions  desired  by  the 
United  States  Government  and  the  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands." 

The  time  and  money  spent  on  the  projected  railways 
proved  barren  of  results.  In  September  he  wrote  to  a 
friend  in  London : 

I  do  not  know  what  the  outcome  of  the  general  railway  project 
of  the  Philippines  is  likely  to  be,  and  I  am  beginning  to  doubt 
that  anything  of  consequence  will  be  done,  notwithstanding  all 
of  Secretary  Taft's  expressions  in  that  direction.  He  is  an  ex- 
tremely good-natured  gentleman  who  makes  promises  without 
much  consideration  and  is  too  honourable  to  go  back  on  them, 
and  therefore  he  has  got  himself  and  his  railway  projects  into 
such  a  muddle  that  I  doubt  if  he  will  ever  find  his  way  out. 

Somebody  connected  with  the  Manila  Railway  Company  was 
bright  enough  to  see  that  a  concession  extending  thirty  or  forty 
miles  north-easterly  and  another  one  of  twenty  miles  or  so  south- 
easterly would  either  block  the  larger  scheme  or  compel  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Manila  Railway,  including  these  concessions,  at  their 
own  price.  They  succeeded  in  getting  these  concessions  from  Mr. 
Taft  at  the  very  time  my  engineers  were  on  their  way  to  the 
Philippines,  pursuant  to  an  understanding  with  the  War  Depart- 
ment which  was  known  and  approved  by  Mr.  Taft.  The  Man- 
ila Railway  people  are  naturally  doing  all  they  can  now  towards 


The  Philippine  Islands  309 

covering  the  ground  which  has  been  given  them  so  as  to 
strengthen  their  position.  They  have  got  Speyers  to  help  them, 
and  I  am  afraid  that  the  time  and  money  I  have  given  the  thing 
has  been  wasted. 

The  United  States  government  had  abundant  reason 
to  deplore  the  concessions  granted  by  Governor  Taft. 
In  his  report  for  the  year  1915,  Francis  Burton  Harri- 
son, Governor  of  the  Philippines,  announced  that  his 
government  had  decided  to  purchase  the  Manila  Rail- 
way— "to  buy  back  for  the  Philippine  Islands  the  per- 
petual franchise  which  had  been  so  unwisely  granted 
to  this  company.  .  .  ." 

Van  Home's  audacity  in  beginning  the  Cuba  Railroad 
without  a  charter  and  the  entente  cordiale  that  he  had 
established  with  the  Cuban  people  brought  him  many  re- 
quests to  undertake  the  direction  of  other  Spanish- 
American  projects.  But  although  he  was  attracted  by 
several  to  the  extent  of  investing  in  them,  his  programme 
of  development  in  Cuba,  his  expectation,  throughout 
1903,  of  building  railways  in.  the  Philippines,  and  his 
multifarious  duties  in  Canada,  compelled  him  to  decline. 
For  these  reasons  he  refused  to  connect  himself  with  a 
railway  in  Honduras  or  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  and  he 
withdrew  from  the  Demerara  Electric  Railway,  of  which 
he  had  been  a  director  and  in  the  organization  and  con- 
struction of  which  he  had  been  actively  helpful. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  understanding  that  so  long  as  he 
was  engaged  with  the  Philippine  project  he  should  not 
be  required  to  do  any  executive  work,  he  agreed  to  join 
in  an  enterprise  for  the  construction  of  a  railway  in 
Guatemala.  His  principal  associates  in  this  undertak- 
ing were  Minor  Keith,  vice-president  of  the  United  Fruit 
Company,  who  had  built  the  Costa  Rica  Railway,  and 
General  Hubbard.  Three  men  of  such  experience  and 


3IO     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

repute  had  small  difficulty  in  securing  what  Van  Home 
termed  "an  admirable  concession." 

"We  asked  for  all  we  could  think  of,  and  we  got  all 
that  we  asked  for." 

The  concession  included  the  perpetual  ownership  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of  railway,  running 
from  Puerto  Barrios  on  the  coast  toward  Guatemala 
City  and  built  at  great  cost  by  the  Guatemalan  govern- 
ment, and  stipulated  for  the  completion  of  the  line  to  the 
capital,  some  sixty-five  miles  distant.  A  contract  with 
the  government  was  executed  by  Keith  and  Van  Home, 
and  a  promise  of  traffic  assured  by  the  United  Fruit 
Company  undertaking  to  plant  a  million  banana  trees  on 
land  adjacent  to  the  railway.  The  cooperation  of  the 
United  Fruit  Company,  with  its  immense  organization 
in  tropical  countries  and  its  fleet  of  fruit-carrying  steam- 
ers, was  a  valuable  asset  from  the  outset,  and  Van  Home 
and  his  two  associates  advanced  sufficient  money  to  re- 
pair the  existing  line  and  begin  construction  of  the  new 
one. 

The  financial  stress  of  1903,  which  had  seriously  em- 
barrassed him  in  his  Cuban  projects,  was  not  so  severely 
felt  in  Canada  as  in  the  United  States.  But  it  had 
caused  Van  Home  anxiety  concerning  several  of  the 
Canadian  companies  with  which  he  was  associated. 
Handicapped  by  inexpert  management  and  by  damage 
from  fire,  the  Laurentide  Pulp  Company  had  needed 
more  careful  nursing  than  he  had  been  able  to  give  it. 
The  responsibility  for  its  direction  fell  mainly  upon  him, 
as  its  president,  and  the  burden  was  made  the  heavier 
through  the  prolonged  illness  of  the  originator  of  the 
enterprise,  General  Alger,  who  held  him  answerable  for 
the  mill's  success.  This  responsibility  could  not  be 
avoided,  for  he  had  induced  many  friends  to  invest  in 


The  Laurentide  Paper  Company  311 

the  enterprise  and  consequently  was  determined  to  put 
it  on  a  flourishing  basis.  On  the  advice  of  leading 
American  experts  who  were  brought  to  the  plant  in 
1902,  it  was  decided  to  secure  a  manager  of  high  tech- 
nical attainments  and  to  make  the  manufacture  of  paper 
the  main  object  of  the  company.  This  involved  an  in- 
crease of  the  capital  stock  and  an  issue  of  bonds  to  pro- 
vide for  the  erection  of  paper  mills  and  machinery,  and 
it  was  as  hard  to  raise  money  in  Canada  as  it  was  south 
of  the  line.  But  despite  his  innumerable  cares,  Van 
Home  had  to  face  the  task  of  raising  it.  He  found  it 
"the  most  difficult  job  of  the  kind"  he  had  ever  at- 
tempted, but  before  the  close  of  1908  the  money  was 
subscribed.  The  result  of  the  reorganization  and  the 
expert  management  was  speedily  apparent,  and  within 
two  years  the  Laurentide  Paper  Company  gained  a  com- 
manding position  in  the  paper  market  and  was  on  the 
highroad  to  prosperity. 

Troubles  come  not  as  single  spies,  but  in  battalions. 
His  anxieties  concerning  the  financial  well-being  of  his 
various  interests  were  overshadowed  by  domestic  mis- 
fortune. His  sister  Mary,  who  had  shared  his  home 
and  fortune  since  his  marriage,  contracted  a  serious  ill- 
ness, and  everything  else  was  made  subservient  to  his 
solicitude  for  her.  Inheriting  their  mother's  ability  and 
sharing  his  social  gifts,  she  had  been  his  almoner,  sug- 
gesting and  arranging  his  private  charities.  His  care 
for  her  through  many  anxious  weeks  at  Covenhoven 
and  in  Montreal  showed  his  deep  affection  for  her.  All 
that  love  and  devotion  and  skill  could  do  were  unavail- 
ing, and  his  sister  died  in  Montreal  in  January,  1904,  and 
was  buried  beside  their  mother  at  Joliet. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

1905-08.  INSURRECTIONS  IN  CUBA  AND  GUATE- 
MALA. A  VISIT  TO  GUATEMALA.  J.  J.  HILL  AGAIN. 
THE  DOMINION  STEEL  AND  COAL  COMPANIES. 

STOCK-BREEDING. 
» 

THE  loan  granted  by  the  Cuban  government,  fur- 
ther investment  in  the  Cuba  Company's  securi- 
ties by  Fleming's  London  clients,  and  a  general 
recovery  of  financial  conditions  encouraged  Van  Home 
to  proceed  with  some  of  the  branch  lines  which  he 
planned  to  serve  as  feeders  to  the  Cuba  Railroad.  Hav- 
ing erected  car-shops  at  Camaguey,  the  seat  of  the  com- 
pany's headquarters,  in  order  that  the  road  might  be 
independent  of  American  shops  for  its  equipment,  he 
sought  to  have  introduced  in  the  Cuban  Congress  a 
measure  providing  for  substantial  subsidies  for  the  con- 
struction of  branch  lines  in  the  eastern  provinces.  He 
resolved,  also,  to  extend  the  main  line  from  Santa  Clara 
westward  to  Havana.  He  felt  compelled  to  make  this 
extension  through  his  failure,  notwithstanding  continual 
negotiations  with  the  United  Railways  of  Havana,  to  se- 
cure satisfactory  arrangements  for  his  through-freight 
service.  As  Havana  was  the  chief  centre  of  the  island, 
and  likely  to  remain  so,  adequate  connections  for  the 
transportation  of  his  traffic  over  their  lines  was  essential 
to  the  profitable  operation  of  the  Cuba  Railroad.  In 
order  to  show  that  he  was  determined  to  protect  his 
through  traffic  to  Havana,  if  necessary  by  a  line  of  his 
own,  he  communicated  his  intentions  to  the  United  Rail- 
ways and  caused  surveys  to  be  made  along  a  southerly 

312 


Railway  Connections  in  Cuba  313 

route  which  would  not  interfere  with  existing  lines.  He 
also  surveyed  a  spur  from  the  projected  extension  into 
Cienfuegos,  which  would  make  the  shortest  line  from 
that  point  to  Havana  and  would  at  the  same  time  afford 
his  system  a  connection  with  the  southern  port. 

This  move  brought  a  clash  with  unexpected  oppon- 
ents. The  Havana  Central  Company,  which  operated 
the  electric  railway  system  of  the  capital  and  of  which 
he  himself  was  a  director,  now  announced  its  intention 
to  build  a  line  from  Havana  to  Cienfuegos.  He  had 
discussed  his  plans  with  some  of  his  friends  in  that 
company  and  had  found  them  agreeable,  if  he  were  com- 
pelled to  build  westward,  to  a  proposal  to  use  their  line 
from  Guines  to  Havana  for  his  trains.  They  had  given 
him  no  hint  of  any  intention  to  build  a  line  of  their  own 
to  Cienfuegos.  An  electric  railway  reaching  that  point 
would  threaten  all  the  territory  of  his  road  in  Central 
Cuba. 

Indignant  at  what  he  considered  to  be  deliberate  bad 
faith,  Van  Home  abruptly  withdrew  from  the  Havana 
Central  and  sold  his  stock.  Then,  in  order  to  block 
the  threatened  encroachment,  he  had  surveys  made  and 
plans  prepared  for  an  extension  of  the  Cuba  Railroad 
into  the  Manicaragua  valley  east  of  Cienfuegos,  which 
contained  the  only  route  by  which  he  could  be  attacked. 
His  plans  for  the  line  between  Cienfuegos  and  Havana 
were  ready  when  the  Havana  Central  filed  plans  for  an 
almost  identical  line;  but  in  their  haste  the  Havana 
Central  people  had  made  plans  which  were  not  in  legal 
form,  and  the  subsidiary  company  they  had  formed  to 
build  their  line  was  found  to  have  not  complied  with  the 
law  relating  to  its  organization.  Their  plans  were  re- 
jected and  their  company  denied  recognition.  Van 
Home  immediately  filed  his  plans,  which  were  approved, 


314     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Under  the  law  he  had  two  years  within  which  to  com- 
mence construction  and  five  within  which  to  complete 
the  work.  Regarding  the  project  as  one  to  be  carried 
out  only  if  he  failed  to  secure  a  satisfactory  arrangement 
with  the  United  Railways  of  Havana,  Van  Home  re- 
opened negotiations  with  the  head  of  that  system,  Baron 
Hugo  Schroeder.  In  addition  to  prompt  and  adequate 
connections,  he  demanded  the  right  to  make  rates  be- 
tween Havana  and  points  on  the  Cuba  Railroad,  in  order 
to  protect  traffic  against  coast  steamers  and  other  com- 
petition. In  January,  1906,  after  completing  arrange- 
ments for  planting  sugar-cane  about  the  site  of  a  second 
sugar-mill,  Van  Home  went  to  England  to  further  the 
negotiations.  He  failed,  however,  to  reach  a  settlement, 
and  returned  to  America  convinced  of  the  necessity  of 
building  into  Havana. 

The  Cuba  Railroad,  though  earning  an  annual  sur- 
plus, was  not  yet  paying  a  dividend,  but  various  indus- 
tries along  the  line  were  developing  and  traffic  was  out- 
growing equipment.  Numerous  land-holdings  had  been 
taken  up  by  Cubans  and  Americans,  some  seven  thou- 
sand of  the  latter  having  registered  their  titles  in  the 
district  of  Camaguey.  In  May,  1906,  the  subsidy  bill 
passed  the  Cuban  Congress,  and  Van  Home  proposed  to 
begin  construction  of  the  eastern  branches  at  the  end  of 
the  rainy  season.  Rumours  of  reprisals  by  the  United 
Railways,  if  he  built  into  Havana,  were  rife.  That 
company  was  said  to  be  aiming  at  control  of  the  Cuba 
Railroad  and  planning  to  build  competitive  lines  at  San- 
tiago. Van  Home  countered  with  threats  of  attacking 
all  their  main  centres  of  traffic,  filed  plans  for  a  number 
of  additional  branches,  and  organized  a  flying  construc- 
tion force  to  be  ready  for  immediate  operations  at  any 
menaced  point. 


Insurrection  in  Cuba  31$ 

All  plans  proved  abortive  when  the  peace  of  the  island 
was  suddenly  broken  by  an  insurrection.  The  Cubans 
had  not  learned  the  primary  lesson  of  democracy — sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  the  majority.  The  dissatisfaction 
of  the  defeated  party  with  the  election  of  1905  and  the 
reelection  of  President  Palma  flamed  into  rebellion  in 
August,  1906. 

"The  disturbance  in  Cuba,"  wrote  Van  Home  to  Rob- 
ert Fleming,  "which  was  at  first  confined  between  the 
Rural  Guard  and  a  disorderly  element  in  the  extreme 
west,  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  insurrection  by  the 
arrest  of  a  lot  of  political  leaders,  including  the  late  can- 
didate for  the  presidency  against  Mr.  Palma.  This  nat- 
urally intensified  the  bad  feeling  which  had  prevailed 
since  the  election  of  last  year,  and  resulted  in  the  taking 
up  of  arms  by  the  friends  of  the  imprisoned  leaders. 
.  .  .  Their  attitude  should,  as  yet,  be  regarded  as  not 
much  beyond  a  protest  against  the  arrest  of  their  polit- 
ical leaders  and  against  the  methods  of  the  Government 
at  the  last  election." 

The  United  States  government  immediately  inter- 
vened. About  the  middle  of  September  President  Roose- 
velt sent  Secretary  Taft  to  Cuba  for  the  purpose  of  recon- 
ciling the  contending  factions.  Secretary  Taft's  efforts 
were  unsuccessful,  and  President  Palma  resigned.  It 
was  found  impossible  to  assemble  the  Cuban  Congress, 
and  Secretary  Taft  formed  a  provisional  government  for 
the  restoration  of  order  and  public  confidence,  and  an- 
nounced that  a  fresh  election  would  be  held  "to  deter- 
mine on  those  persons  upon  whom  the  permanent  gov- 
ernment of  the  republic  should  devolve."  The  island 
was  again,  for  the  time  being,  under  American  rule,  and 
the  disturbance,  described  by  Van  Home  as  "a  rather 
polite  affair,"  was  over.  He  held  President  Palma  in 


316     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

high  esteem  and  deplored  his  resignation,  desiring  above 
all  things  stability  of  government. 

"I  am  sorry,"  he  wrote  to  his  Cuban  counsel,  M.  J. 
Manduley,  "that  the  President  did  not  stick  to  his  guns 
and  refuse  to  be  coerced  by  Secretary  Taft  or  anybody 
else,  even  if,  in  the  end,  he  could  be  forcibly  overcome, 
but  I  realize  that  no  one  at  a  distance  could  possibly 
measure  the  difficulties  of  his  position.  ...  I  am  unable 
to  understand  Secretary  Taft's  action  in  the  matter. 
That  the  United  States  should  give  countenance  to  the 
upsetting  of  a  year-old  election  because  the  defeated 
party  has  seen  fit  to  take  up  arms  is  quite  incomprehen- 
sible to  me.  Such  a  thing  must  lead  directly  to  chaos, 
and  it  is  certainly  a  distinct  encouragement  to  insurrec- 
tion. However,  I  am  not  a  statesman  and  do  not  pre- 
tend to  any  political  wisdom." 

President  Roosevelt  asked  Van  Home  to  come  and 
see  him  because  he  wished  to  learn  exactly  what  were 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  eastern  Cuba.  Van  Home 
went  immediately  to  the  White  House.  The  President 
came  into  the  anteroom  and,  having  got  rid  of  other 
visitors,  put  his  arm  around  Van  Home,  and  saying, 
"Now,  Van  Home,  come  and  tell  me  all  about  Cuba," 
led  him  into  his  private  office. 

"I  was  with  the  President  for  half  an  hour  or  more," 
said  Van  Home  afterwards.  "During  that  time  he 
told  me  many  things  about  Cuba,  some  of  which  were 
not  correct.  Then  he  rose  to  indicate  that  the  inter- 
view was  at  an  end.  During  the  whole  of  my  visit  he 
never  asked  me  a  single  question  and  never  gave  me  a 
chance  to  open  my  mouth." 

Van  Home's  efforts  to  ingratiate  the  Cuban  people 
were  handsomely  rewarded  during  the  insurrection.  The 
insurgent  leaders  treated  the  company's  officials  in  the 


Insurrection  in  Cuba  317 

friendliest  way  and  gave  its  surveying  engineers  written 
permits  which  forbade  any  interference  with  their  opera- 
tions or  the  seizure  of  their  horses.  With  the  scrupu- 
lous politeness  characteristic  of  their  race,  however,  they 
warned  the  manager  of  the  railroad  that  they  would  be 
obliged  to  resort  to  blowing  up  the  bridges  of  the  com- 
pany if  it  rendered  any  service  to  the  government. 
t--The  disturbance  affected  all  Cuban  investments  un- 
favourably. Nothing  is  more  sensitive  than  capital,  and 
investors,  ever  prone  to  be  distrustful  of  Spanish- Amer- 
ican countries,  fought  shy  of  adding  to  their  commit- 
ments in  an  island  where  rebellion  had  so  suddenly 
broken  out.  All  Van  Home's  plans  for  extensions  had 
to  be  held  in  abeyance.  The  Havana  Central,  too,  found 
itself  unable  to  raise  funds  for  further  operations,  and 
soon  passed  into  the  control  of  the  United  Railways  of 
Havana.  With  that  antagonist  removed,  Van  Home 
reopened  negotiations  with  the  latter  company.  These 
were  finally  successful,  and  the  extension  to  Havana  was 
thereupon  abandoned. 

In  the  meantime  another  of  his  ventures  was  being 
subjected  to  almost  identical  hazards.  In  1905  it  had 
become  necessary  to  secure  capital  for  the  construction 
of  the  Guatemala  Railway.  A  large  preliminary  loan 
was  obtained  by  Percival  Farquhar  from  the  Deutsche 
Bank,  and  the  work  progressed  with  smoothness.  But 
in  1906  troubles  similar  to  those  arising  in  Cuba  came 
to  the  surface  in  Guatemala.  The  reelection  of  Don 
Manual  Cabrera  to  the  presidency  caused  widespread 
discontent.  He  was  charged  with  aiming  at  a  dictator- 
ship, with  the  persecution  of  political  opponents,  with 
financial  maladministration,  and  with  aggression  against 
neighbouring  states.  A  well-armed  force,  organized  by 
ex-President  Barillas  and  supported  by  adventurers 


318     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

from  San  Francisco,  invaded  Guatemala  from  Salvador, 
British  Honduras,  and  Mexico.  The  disturbance 
spread.  Salvador,  which  had  long  regarded  with  jeal- 
ousy and  suspicion  Guatemala's  aspirations  to  the  do- 
minion of  a  Central  American  Federation,  declared  war. 
Costa  Rica  and  Honduras  came  in  on  the  side  of  Salva- 
dor, while  Nicaragua  was  hostile,  and  a  long  and  devas- 
tating war  would  probably  have  ensued  if  President 
Roosevelt  and  President  Diaz  of  Mexico  had  not  inter- 
vened. Through  their  efforts  an  armistice  was  signed 
in  July,  1906,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  of  two  months  later. 
One  of  the  inevitable  and  immediate  consequences  of 
this  disturbance,  which  happened  almost  contempora- 
neously with  the  Cuban  insurrection,  was  that  the  flow 
of  capital  was  stopped  at  the  fount.  The  Deutsche  Bank 
refused  to  make  further  advances.  All  pockets  were 
closed  to  the  Guatemala  Railway.  The  line  was  still 
unfinished.  Its  earning  power  depended  upon  its  reach- 
ing Guatemala  City.  The  only  course  open  to  the  pro- 
moters was  to  provide  personally  the  funds  needed  for 
its  completion.  The  amount  required  was  not  large  in 
terms  of  railway  expenditure,  but  of  the  three  concerned, 
Van  Home  probably  felt  most  severely  the  burden  of 
this  new  obligation.  He  had  invested  in  Cuba  more 
than  he  had  ever  intended,  and  was  now  so  pressed  for 
money  that  he  had  to  dispose  of  some  investments  in 
Mexico  and  elsewhere  and  to  part  with  a  portion  of  his 
stock  in  the  Guatemala  enterprise  in  order  to  finance  his 
new  outlays.  With  Keith  absorbed  in  large  interests 
elsewhere  and  his  own  attention  directed  continuously 
to  Cuba,  the  Guatemala  railway  had  not  progressed  as 
speedily  and  economically  as  he  had  expected.  He  now 
felt  compelled  to  give  it  more  attention,  and  began 
"scratching  about  everywhere"  to  find  additional  cap- 


A  Visit  to  Guatemala  319 

ital.  By  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  succeeded.  Condi- 
tions in  Guatemala  were  brightening.  Labourers  were 
returning  from  the  army,  and  the  grading  of  the  line 
was  soon  completed. 

In  April  of  the  following  year  Van  Home  made  his 
first  visit  to  Guatemala,  joining  Minor  Keith  and  Charles 
Hopkins  Clark  of  Hartford  at  Puerto  Barrios.  From 
the  end  of  the  rail  they  rode  on  mules  to  the  capital. 
He  was  now  in  his  sixty-fourth  year  and  very  corpu- 
lent and  the  journey  was  one  of  great  physical  discom- 
fort. But  his  intense  interest  in  the  road  and  the  pros- 
pects of  development  so  filled  his  mind  that  the  actual 
hardships  bore  less  on  him  than  on  his  younger  and 
slighter  companions.  They  were  astonished  by  his  fear- 
lessness in  "riding  along  the  most  precipitous  cliffs  as 
though  he  were  on  a  toll-bridge."  His  fame  as  a  rail- 
way-builder had  preceded  him,  and  he  was  greeted  with 
enthusiasm  and  homage  at  every  engineers'  camp  and 
construction  depot. 

A  typical  Spanish-American  welcome  awaited  him 
and  Keith  at  Guatemala  City,  which  surprised  him  by  its 
beauty,  its  handsome  streets  and  buildings,  and  the 
signs  everywhere  of  growth  and  prosperity.  He  was 
even  more  agreeably  astonished  by  the  celerity  with 
which  the  chief  executive  of  the  Republic  despatched  his 
administrative  duties.  In  less  than  two  hours  ten  mat- 
ters of  importance  were  discussed  and  decided,  and  the 
decrees  issued. 

"Some  of  our  northern  governments  might  learn 
something  there,"  said  Van  Home.  "I  am  particularly 
pleased  at  the  fair  and  liberal  manner  in  which  the  terms 
of  our  contract  have  been  carried  out  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Guatemala.  Our  experience  in  this  regard  has 
been  very  much  more  satisfactory  than  with  any  Anglo- 


320     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Saxon  government  with  which  I  have  had  to  do,  and  we 
have  not  been  bled  to  the  extent  of  one  dollar  by  any- 
body connected  with  the  administration." 

His  visit  to  Guatemala  dissipated  all  Van  Home's 
fears  and  doubts  about  the  railway.  Vexing  delays  and 
financial  difficulties  receded  into  the  background.  His 
spirits  rose  buoyantly  as  his  mind  dwelt  upon  the  oppor- 
tunities for  development,  and  he  began  to  plan  a  branch 
line  into  Salvador.  The  prospects,  indeed,  were  encour- 
aging. The  United  Fruit  Company  was  increasing  its 
Central  American  fleet  and  arranging  for  a  European 
service  by  the  Hamburg-American  line  to  Puerto  Bar- 
rios. As  the  practical  railwayman  among  the  promot- 
ers, Van  Home  undertook  to  order  the  rolling-stock 
for  the  line. 

A  visit  in  the  same  year  to  his  Selkirk  farm  and  to 
Winnipeg  brought  him  once  more  into  actual  contact 
with  the  problems  of  the  Canadian  Pacific.  The  prairie 
provinces  which  he  had  so  jealously  guarded  had  been 
invaded  not  only  by  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  but  also 
by  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway.  Now  he  found  the 
province  of  Manitoba,  as  apt  to  measure  its  prosperity 
in  terms  of  railway  facilities  as  in  the  productiveness  of 
its  soil,  coquetting  with  his  ancient  enemy,  J,  J.  Hill,  and 
in  treaty  for  extensions  of  his  lines  into  its  boundaries. 
His  old  resentment  flamed  anew.  It  was  given  vent  in 
a  letter  to  William  Whyte,  which  was  virtually  a  man- 
ifesto to  the  people  of  Manitoba : 

"Oh,  my  body  and  bones  and  blood,  how  I  love  thee,  Manitoba  1" 
says  my  friend,  J.  J.  Hill.  How  long,  think  you,  has  this  love  of 
his  for  Manitoba  existed?  I  can  tell  you  precisely.  It  dates 
from  the  time  the  "Soo"  extension  was  built  between  him  and  the 
International  boundary,  and  the  time  when  the  C.  P.  R.  started 
toward  Spokane.  .  .  .  He  is  a  man  of  very  great  ability.  .  .  . 


/.  J.  Hill  and  Manitoba  321 

He  is  a  pastmaster  in  the  art  of  working  a  community,  and  he  is 
working  you  in  his  usual  artistic  way.  .  .  .  What  you  have  let 
him  do  can't  be  undone,  and  you  will  have  to  rely  on  the  C.  P.  R. 
later  on  to  protect  your  trade  against  his  railroads.  Therefore  it 
behooves  you  not  to  treat  the  C.  P.  R.  too  badl>.  .  .  . 

Some  say  that  the  question  I  have  raised  concerning  Mr.  Hill's 
plans  is  merely  one  between  the  railways.  ...  I  say  that  it  does 
matter  very  much  to  you  whether  your  traffic  is  carried  within 
or  without  your  own  country,  for  if  carried  by  your  home-rail- 
ways, two  thirds  of  the  earnings  are  immediately  paid  out  at 
home  in  the  shape  of  working  expenses — for  wages  and  materials 
— and  the  other  one  third  goes  abroad  for  interest  and  dividends, 
and  promotes  the  credit  of  your  railways  and  helps  them  to  get 
more  money  for  developments  here.  A  little  thought  given  to  this 
important  question  will  be  worth  while. 

On  his  return  to  Montreal  Van  Home  could  not  dis- 
miss from  his  mind  his  amazement  that  the  Winnipeg 
people  should  allow  Hill's  branch  lines  to  come  up  and 
tap  Canadian  traffic.  A  few  months  later  he  wrote 
"Cy"  Warman,  the  well-known  railwayman  and  jour- 
nalist : 

Hill's  old  boast,  which  seems  to  have  been  forgotten  in  Canada, 
with  many  other  of  his  nuggets  of  speech,  will  have  a  good  chance 
of  coming  true.  I  do  not  remember  his  exact  words  nor  on  what 
occasion  they  were  used,  but  perhaps  you  will  recall  them.  They 
were  to  the  effect  that  if  he  were  to  build  five  or  six  branch  lines 
into  the  Canadian  Northwest,  Canada  could  not  hold  that  region 
any  more  than  she  could  hold  a  streak  of  lightning.  But  I  am 
afraid  it  will  be  long  before  our  Winnipeg  friends  learn  the 
danger  of  caressing  a  mule's  hoof.  Our  friend  Jim  has  gilded 
the  hoof,  and  the  Winnipegers  are  kissing  it.  It  is  no  use  saying 
anything ;  watch  the  results. 

Events  did  not  justify  his  forebodings.  Rumours  of 
invasion  by  Hill's  lines  came  and  went  like  weather- 
storms,  but  they  never  made  any  serious  encroachment 
on  the  Canadian  Pacific's  prairie  territory. 


322     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  V an  Home 

Before  his  fighting  temper  had  cooled  off  Van  Home 
became  actively  involved  in  a  long  and  bitter  struggle 
between  two  companies,  of  both  of  which  he  was  a 
director,  the  Dominion  Coal  Company  and  the  Dominion 
Iron  and  Steel  Company.  The  lawsuit  between  the  two 
companies  over  the  repudiation  by  the  Coal  Company  of 
a  contract  to  supply  coal  to  the  Steel  Company  became  a 
cause  celebre.  Having  vainly  endeavoured  to  induce 
James  Ross,  the  president  of  the  Coal  Company,  to  con- 
sent to  a  settlement  by  arbitration,  Van  Home  withdrew 
altogether  from  that  company  and  stood  out  as  the 
vehement  champion  of  the  Steel  Company,  fighting  its 
battles  with  the  more  heat,  perhaps,  because  of  an  old 
grudge  he  had  against  Ross  concerning  the  division  of 
spoils  in  a  street-railway  deal.  The  progress  of  litiga- 
tion was  accompanied  by  a  duel  for  control  of  the  Steel 
Company,  by  various  stock-market  moves  by  both  sides, 
and  by  threats  and  counter-threats. 

The  suit  came  to  trial  at  Sydney  in  July,  1907,  and  the 
court  gave  judgment  in  favour  of  the  Steel  Company. 
The  case  was  at  once  appealed.  The  companies  were  the 
largest  coal  and  iron  producers  in  the  country,  employ- 
ing several  thousands  of  men.  Their  share-holders 
were  numerous;  the  dispute  caused  great  anxiety,  and 
its  settlement  became  a  matter  of  national  importance. 
Earl  Grey,  the  Governor-General,  and  Sir  Wilfrid  Lau- 
rier  both  sought  to  bring  about  a  compromise.  But 
Van  Home  was  now  as  obdurate  as  Ross  had  been  before 
the  suit  was  taken.  He  would  consent  to  arbitration, 
he  told  the  Premier,  only  if  the  Coal  Company  would 
restore  the  status  quo  ante  bellum.  To  Lord  Grey,  who 
had  expressed  his  solicitude  for  the  business  interests 
of  the  country,  he  politely  pointed  out  that  no  one  was 
being  damaged  at  the  moment  "save  the  Steel  Company 


The  Dominion  Iron  and  Steel  Company       323 

through  the  extra  price  it  has  to  pay  the  Coal  Company 
for  coal,  and  which  extra  price  it  expects  to  recover 
later  on  ...  this  extra  price  is  going  into  the  treasury 
of  the  Coal  Company  which  will  in  the  end,  and  at  the 
worst,  have  to  refund  an  overcharge."  . 

The  Appeal  Court  confirmed  the  judgment  of  the  trial 
judge.  The  case  was  carried  to  the  Privy  Council  in 
England,  where  the  Canadian  courts  were  sustained. 
The  two  companies  were  subsequently  amalgamated, 
with  Van  Home  as  vice-president  of  the  combination. 
He  had  deplored  the  litigation  and  done  all  that  he  could 
to  avert  it.  But  once  in  the  fray,  he  had  delighted,  as 
of  old  in  his  railway  battles,  in  detecting  and  defeating 
the  moves  of  his  adversary.  He  was  correspondingly 
elated  by  the  final  victory. 

While  waging  battle  for  the  Steel  Company,  Van 
Home  was  also  actively  engaged  in  trying  to  get  gov- 
ernment support  for  the  Canadian  paper-making  indus- 
try and  protection  for  Canadian  forests.  The  Lauren- 
tide  Company  was  now  a  large  producer  of  paper  and 
earning  handsome  profits.  The  plant  at  Grand  Falls, 
New  Brunswick,  was  still  in  embryo,  owing  to  delay 
and  the  issue  of  a  charter  to  a  rival  organization.  What 
now  occupied  his  mind  was  the  inroad  on  Canadian 
pulp-wood  by  American  papermakers.  The  pulp-wood 
resources  of  the  United  States  were  being  rapidly  ex- 
hausted. Two  of  the  largest  American  organizations 
had  added  thousands  of  square  miles  of  Canadian  tim- 
ber-lands to  their  already  large  holdings.  Other  Amer- 
ican firms  were  becoming  active  in  the  same  direction, 
and  Wisconsin  mills  were  transporting  millions  of  logs 
from  Quebec.  But  only  one  American  company  was 
building  a  mill  to  manufacture  pulp  in  Canada.  The 
Dingley  Tariff  had  been  ingeniously  framed  to  prevent 


324     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Canada  from  levying  an  export  duty  on  pulp-wood. 
Van  Home  repeatedly  urged  the  Dominion  Premier  and 
the  members  of  his  cabinet  to  impose  one,  or,  indeed, 
to  prohibit  the  export  of  pulp-wood  altogether.  In  ten 
years  the  imports  from  the  United  States  to  Canada  had 
trebled,  increasing  from  $50,000,000  to  $150,000,000, 
while  during  the  same  period  Canadian  exports  to  the 
United  States  had  remained  practically  stationary  at  the 
paltry  total  of  $10,000,000. 

Van  Home  maintained  that  so  good  a  customer  as 
Canada  should  be  better  treated  than  she  was  under  the 
Dingley  Tariff,  and  that  she  would  be  better  treated  as 
soon  as  she  showed  a  little  spirit.  The  Canadian  exports 
to  the  United  States  were  injurious,  rather  than  benefi- 
cial to  the  country,  for,  apart  from  lumber,  they  con- 
sisted mainly  of  mineral  ores  taken  from  British  Colum- 
bia to  be  smelted  abroad.  "Stumps  and  holes  in  the 
ground — these  only  we  have  to  show  for  our  exports,'' 
he  said.  One  cord  of  pulp-wood  exported  from  Canada 
yielded  to  Canada  and  all  her  interests  less  than  six  dol- 
lars, but  the  same  -cord  of  pulp-wood  manufactured  into 
paper  yielded  thirty-six  dollars.  "No  sane  individual 
would  waste  his  raw  materials  in  such  a  way  when  he 
could  do  so  much  better  with  them,  and  I  can  see  no  good 
reason  why  a  Government  should  do  so  any  more  than 
an  individual." 

One  of  the  hobbies  in  which,  during  this  period,  Van 
Home  found  relief  from  worry  and  contention  was 
stock-breeding.  Yule,  the  Scotch  manager  of  his  Sel- 
kirk farm,  who  had  a  highly  developed  fancy  for  prize- 
winning  at  fairs,  introduced  this  pastime  to  him, 
and  having  once  entered  upon  it,  he  went  into  the  game 
with  his  usual  determination  to  have  the  very  best  and 
to  beat  everybody.  Yule  was  sent  on  frequent  trips  to 


Blue  Ribbons  at  Cattle-Shows  325 

Scotland  and  England  to  purchase  the  best  animals  from 
the  choicest  herds,  and  eventually  assembled  a  herd  of 
shorthorns  which  took  blue  ribbons  at  the  cattle-shows 
at  Winnipeg,  Chicago,  and  other  cities. 

From  1904  to  1909  he  followed  the  game  with  unusual 
enjoyment  and  at  the  cost  of  a  continual  drain  on  his 
cheque-book.  He  maintained  a  jovial  argument  about 
the  comparative  merits  of  their  herds  with  Sir  George 
Drummond,  who  had  a  famous  stock-farm  on  the  island 
of  Montreal.  On  one  occasion  Sir  George,  who  was 
traveling  to  the  Pacific  coast  with  Sir  Thomas  Shaugh- 
nessy,  visited  the  Winnipeg  Fair  and  sent  Van  Home  a 
telegram  which  contained  a  teasing  comment  on  his 
exhibit  and  a  boast  of  the  superior  quality  of  his  own 
herd.  An  amusing  exchange  of  challenges  and  boasts 
ensued  over  the  telegraph  wires.  Sir  George  was  in- 
formed that  his  claims  to  superiority  were  as  idle  as 
those  of  the  Southern  colonel  who  brought  "the  most 
famous  bull  in  the  States"  to  the  Toronto  Fair,  and 
there  "my  Trince  Sunbeam'  made  him  look  like  a  Texas 
steer." 

"Long  breeding  begets  vanity,"  wired  Van  Home  to 
Shaughnessy.  "When  Sir  George  aspires  to  a  first-class 
show  there  will  be  less  boasting  .  .  .  and  when  Sir 
George  sees  the  Selkirk  prize-winner,  the  only  real  bull, 
the  champion  of  America,  he  will  turn  his  into  hides  and 
tallow." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

I9O7-IO.  A  STOCK-MARKET  PANIC  AND  SPANISH- 
AMERICAN  INVESTMENTS.  GEORGIAN  BAY  CANAL. 
EQUITABLE  LIFE  ASSURANCE  SOCIETY.  BIRTH  OF 
GRANDSON.  A  CIRCUS  PARTY.  RESIGNS  CHAIRMAN- 
SHIP OF  C.  P.  R. 

ALTHOUGH  he  protested  that  he  was  not  a  cap- 
italist, but  merely  a  railwayman,  Van  Home's 
attitude  to  the  great  economic  movements  of 
his  time  was  essentially  capitalistic.  Believing  that  on 
the  North-American  continent,  at  least,  every  man  had 
equal  opportunity  to  attain  to  wealth  and  position 
through  his  industry  and  the  exercise  of  his  intelligence, 
he  was  strongly  opposed  to  trades-unionism.  As  an 
employer,  he  was  alive  to  his  responsibility  for  the  wel- 
fare of  his  employees.  He  boasted  that  the  Cuba  Com- 
pany was  "not  one  of  the  heartless  and  grinding  monop- 
olies,"  and  he  uniformly  refused  to  have  any  financial 
interest  in  enterprises  which  involved  the  importation 
of  labour  into  unhealthy  districts.  Consulted  with  re- 
gard to  labour  on  the  Panama  Canal,  he  declined  to  say 
"anything  that  might  even  indirectly  lead  to  the  sending 
of  any  white  men  to  Panama  to  work  on  the  canal  as 
labourers;  for  I  believe  that,  notwithstanding  all  the 
precautions  that  may  be  taken,  there  will  be  a  large 
percentage  of  deaths." 

But  he  condemned  strikes  and  was  disposed  to  fight 
them  to  the  last  ditch.  He  held  that  corporations  con- 
stituted the  foundation  of  our  present  civilization ;  that 

economic  necessity  would  tend  to  make  corporations 

326 


Views  on  Labour  and  Capital  327 

grow  bigger,  stronger,  and,  through  more  perfect  organ- 
ization, more  effective ;  and  that  to  make  corporate  prop- 
erty untenable  would  imply  a  return  to  the  Dark  Ages. 
The  dominant  political  tendencies  in  the  United  States 
at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century,  therefore, 
filled  him  with  alarm  and  somewhat  bewildered  him. 
The  persistent  attacks  on  the  railroads  were  particularly 
depressing.  He  did  not  sense,  or  if  he  did,  he  was  not 
concerned  to  oppose,  the  danger  inherent  in  the  daring 
manipulations  of  a  Harriman  or  the  ingenious  devices  of 
financiers  to  seize  the  transportation  systems  of  the 
country  by  means  of  holding  companies  and  watered 
stocks.  A  railway-builder  himself,  he  resented  attempts 
to  destroy  the  reward  that  was  due  to  those  who  had 
had  the  courage  to  build  railways  and  the  ability  and 
energy  to  develop  them  into  paying  properties.  To 
value  a  railway  system  by  its  actual  money-cost  or  by 
the  cost  of  its  physical  replacement  was  manifestly  as 
absurd  as  to  value  a  manufacturing  plant  by  the  amount 
of  capital  put  into  it,  without  regard  to  the  care  and 
thought  and  industry  that  had  made  it  great  and  profit- 
able. 

The  attacks  upon  railway  corporations  and  the  great 
industrial  trusts — with  which  he  was  in  no  way  con- 
nected— were,  he  thought,  the  outcome  of  "prevailing 
North-American  jealousy  of  either  individual  or  cor- 
porate success/'  and  filled  him  with  indignation.  The 
assaults  upon  over-capitalization  were  misdirected;  the 
wrong  people  were  being  hit,  the  looters  having  made 
off  with  their  spoils. 

"It  is  the  people  who  make  the  laws  that  permitted 
these  things  to  be  done  who  ought  to  be  hunted  down. 
.  .  .  People  who  put  pigs  in  office  ought  not  to  complain 
if  they  eat  dirt  and  are  bought  and  sold." 


328     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

He  did  not  believe  that  the  suit  for  the  dissolution 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Trust  was  sincerely  begun  by  the 
government  or  intended  to  be  pushed  to  a  final  decision 
— that  it  was  anything  more  than  political  bait ;  nor  that 
the  higher  courts  would  order  a  dissolution  on  the  facts 
of  the  case.  Among  many  blunt  and  emphatic  protests 
by  speech  and  letter,  he  wrote  a  concise  and  forceful 
defence  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  which  went  the  rounds 
of  the  press.  He  shared  the  general  reaction  of  busi- 
ness men  against  the  radical  policies  of  President  Roose- 
velt, and  was  disposed  to  ascribe  them  to  political  man- 
oeuvring, which  he  held  in  contempt. 

With  this  estimate  in  his  mind,  he  wrote  Sir  Edward 
Stracey  during  the  panic  which  was  precipitated  by  the 
downfall  of  an  attempted  combination  of  banks,  copper 
interests,  and  other  enterprises  of  F.  Augustus  Heinze 
and  Charles  W.  Morse,  two  daring  Wall  Street  oper- 
ators, and  the  collapse  of  the  Knickerbocker  Trust  Com- 
pany. He  advised  him  not  to  be  "too  much  impressed 
by  the  vagaries  of  Wall  Street." 

Remember  that  a  Presidential  election  is  approaching  in  the 
United  States ;  that  all  the  possible  candidates  for  the  Presidency 
— and  there  are  too  many  of  these  to  be  counted — are  parading 
before  the  public  and  setting  off  fire- works ;  that  the  fullest  ad- 
vantage is  being  taken  of  the  fine  opportunity  to  shake  the  trusts 
and  the  multi-millionaires  in  the  face  of  the  public ;  that  when  one 
puts  out  any  startling  idea  to  catch  the  public  mind,  all  the  others 
try  to  cap  it  with  something  even  more  startling ;  that  such  exhibi- 
tions have  always  preceded  all  Presidential  elections  from  the  be- 
ginning; and  that  no  permanent  harm  has  ever  come  from  these 
things,  for  as  soon  as  the  elections  are  over  common-sense  resumes 
its  sway  and  the  blatherskites  turn  to  conservatism. 

Unsettled  conditions  and  the  "rich  men's  panic"  of 
1907,  coming  after  the  insurrections  in  Cuba  and  Guate- 
mala, added  greatly  to  his  worries.  The  continual  bur- 


The  "Rich  Men's  Panic'  329 

den  of  finding  his  share  of  the  cost  of  completing  the 
Guatemala  Railway  was  a  constant  anxiety.  Van 
Home  was  able  to  meet  his  obligations,  but  doing  so 
kept  him  "damn  poor/'  The  last  spike — a  golden  one — 
was  not  driven  until  January,  1908,  when,  in  keeping 
with  the  customs  of  the  country,  the  opening  of  the 
road  was  celebrated  by  a  festival  of  two  weeks'  duration. 
The  completion  of  the  railway  did  not  sensibly  diminish 
his  obligations  or  his  worry,  and  he  admitted  that  the 
Guatemala  Railway  had  become  his  bete  noire.  Con- 
cern over  his  own  health,  which  was  affected  by  a  dia- 
betic condition,  was  added  to  his  business  anxieties. 

Before  the  loan  from  the  Deutsche  Bank  matured,  he 
arranged  with  Robert  Fleming  to  meet  it  and  to  effect  a 
financial  reorganization  of  the  company.  This  done, 
the  undertaking  was  firmly  established.  Recovery  from 
the  panic  of  1907  made  further  difficulties  unlikely. 
But  by  this  time  Van  Home  had  lost  all  pleasurable  in- 
terest in  the  road,  and  refused  to  join  Keith  in  various 
subsidiary  enterprises  which  the  latter  proposed.  He 
did  not  feel  warranted  in  making  further  sacrifices  or 
going  through  fresh  worry  to  raise  more  capital.  Dis- 
claiming the  possession  of  great  wealth,  he  said,  "I  have 
always  been  more  interested  in  carrying  out  to  a  success- 
ful end  the  different  things  I  have  been  connected  with 
than  in  making  money  for  myself."  It  was  absolutely 
impossible  for  him  "to  go  farther  in  finding  money," 
and  he  offered  to  sell  at  a  sacrifice  his  remaining  inter- 
est in  the  road.  The  new  projects  were  not  entered 
upon,  and  he  remained  connected  with  the  railway  for 
several  years,  with  continually  lessening  interest. 

In  the  financing  of  the  Cuba  Railroad  he  was  almost 
at  an  impasse.  The  second  American  Intervention  had 
restored  peace  to  the  island.  The  election  of  1907  was 


330     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

held  without  disorder,  and  the  new  President,  Jose  Mig- 
uel Gomez,  was  as  friendly  disposed  to  the  enterprise  as 
his  predecessor  had  been.  Continuing  the  policy  of 
President  Palma,  he  supported  the  congressional  grant 
of  subsidies  for  branch  lines  and  affirmed  that  the  Cuba 
Company  and  its  founder  held  a  place  in  the  regard  of 
the  Cubans  such  as  no  other  corporation  had  ever  en- 
joyed. Agricultural  and  industrial  conditions  were  im- 
proving, but  in  Van  Home's  opinion  improvement  was 
gravely  retarded  by  the  "unfair"  terms  of  the  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Cuba.  Her  great  neigh- 
bour treated  Cuba  as  an  undesirable  customer  and  ex- 
acted from  the  struggling  little  island,  by  means  of  pref- 
erential tariffs,  double  the  trade  advantages  she  accorded 
her.  This,  Van  Home  thought,  was  unworthy  of  the 
United  States  and  derogatory  to  her  greatness.  The 
general  indifference  of  Canada  and  the  United  States  to 
Cuba  and  all  Spanish-American  countries  struck  him 
painfully,  and  he  despaired  of  an  early  remedy  when, 
as  he  -complained  to  Congressman  Sulzer,  "ten  times, 
perhaps  one  hundred  times,  more  is  known  of  such  coun- 
tries as  Guatemala  in  Europe  than  is  known  in  the 
United  States.  This  is  all  wrong.  Open  the  eyes  of 
the  American  people.  .  .  ." 

Disappointed  as  he  was  by  the  unexpectedly  slow  de- 
velopment of  the  railway,  Van  Home  was  so  little  dis- 
couraged that  he  felt  himself  justified  in  arranging  for 
the  erection  of  a  hotel  at  Antilla.  But  there  were  no 
available  funds  upon  which  he  could  draw  for  the 
branches  in  Oriente.  The  insurrection  and  the  money- 
panic  had  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  Mor- 
ton Trust  Company,  and  the  New  York  market  was 
closed  to  him.  In  the  Royal  Bank  of  Canada,  cour- 
ageously reaching  out  to  grasp  the  banking  business  of 


The  Georgian  Bay  Canal  331 

the  West  Indies,  he  found  a  satisfactory  fiscal  agent  to 
replace  the  Trust  Company;  but  1907  closed  before  he 
was  able  to  raise  capital  for  the  ordinary  needs  of  the 
road.  Then  Robert  Fleming  again  came  to  his  rescue 
with  advances  against  a  pledge  of  securities.  But  a 
further  interval  of  fifteen  months  elapsed  before  he  was 
in  a  position  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  the  Cuban 
government  to  build  a  branch  line  connecting  Marti  and 
San  Luis  on  the  main  line  with  Bayamo  and  Manzanillo. 

While  Van  Home  was  fighting  the  battles  of  the  Steel 
Company  through  1907  and  scratching  for  money  for 
the  railways  in  Cuba  and  Guatemala,  he  began  to  take 
an  interest  in  one  of  the  many  transportation  projects 
which  Canadian  farmers  and  Canadian  politicians  are 
ever  putting  forward.  He  could  find  nothing  to  com- 
mend the  project  of  a  railway  to  Hudson's  Bay,  because 
of  the  extremely  short  shipping  season  and  the  climatic 
and  other  natural  obstacles  to  navigation.  But  to  the 
surprise  of  many,  who  thought  that  it  might  conflict 
with  the  interests  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  he  became  a 
warm  supporter  of  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal. 

The  idea  of  constructing  a  deep-water  canal  from 
Georgian  Bay  and  of  enlarging  the  St.  Lawrence  canals 
to  permit  of  large  ocean-going  vessels  getting  access 
from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Atlantic  had  intrigued  the 
minds  of  Canadians  for  several  years  and  had  been  one 
of  the  foot-balls  of  platform  politics.  Robert  Perks, 
an  English  shipbuilder,  who  had  secured  the  support  of 
the  banking-houses  of  Rothschild  and  Glyn,  came  out  to 
Canada  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  feasibility 
of  the  canal.  Van  Home  assisted  him  in  an  attempt  to 
bring  the  project  within  the  field  of  practicable  enter- 
prises. Having  enlisted  the  interest  of  Jacob  Schiff,  he 
and  Senator  George  Cox  interviewed  Sir  Wilfrid 


332     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Laurier,  who  expressed  himself  warmly  in  favour  of  a 
canal  for  ocean-going  freight-steamers.  On  studying 
the  scheme  more  closely,  however,  Van  Home  became 
convinced  that,  owing  to  the  cost  of  constructing  a  canal 
twenty-eight  feet  or  more  in  depth  and  of  adapting  the 
facilities  at  lake  ports,  a  deep-water  canal  was  imprac- 
ticable, at  any  rate  for  the  time  being.  He  communi- 
cated his  ideas  in  a  lengthy  memorandum  to  the  Premier, 
in  which  he  set  forth  the  conclusion  that  a  barge  canal 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  in  depth  would  answer  every 
practical  purpose  for  many  years  to  come,  but  that  it 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  be  capable  of  conversion 
without  waste  into  a  deeper  canal  when  that  should  be 
warranted  by  the  development  of  traffic. 

Van  Home  did  not  believe  that  the  canal  would  hurt 
the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  to  one  who  criticised  the 
project  on  the  ground  that  frost  would  close  the  canal 
for  five  months  in  the  year,  he  retorted,  "But  I  would 
operate  it  twelve  months  in  the  year.  I  would  have  it 
bordered  with  electric-lights  that  would  turn  night  into 
day/' 

As  a  member  of  the  board  of  the  Equitable  Life  As- 
surance Society,  he  had  been  greatly  perturbed  by  the 
sensational  insurance  scandals  of  1905  and  1906.  He 
had  joined  the  board  several  years  earlier  at  the  instance 
of  Henry  B.  Hyde  who,  with  others,  was  desirous  of  his 
support  in  advancing  the  interests  of  the  company  in 
Canada.  The  methods  of  the  great  insurance  company 
were  then  unquestioned,  and  in  view  of  his  close  rela- 
tions with  several  leading  American  financiers  who  were 
members  of  the  board,  he  had  had  no  hesitancy  in  lend- 
ing his  name.  Occasionally  and  in  a  perfunctory  way 
he  had  attended  meetings  of  the  board,  but  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  its  financial  operations.  The  exposure,  there- 


Love  of  Children  333 

fore,  of  the  manipulations  of  the  company's  executive 
came  to  him  as  a  distinct  shock.  He  was  ashamed  of 
the  "nasty  mess"  in  which  he  had  inadvertently  allowed 
himself  to  be  involved. 

His  mortification  led  him  to  question  the  propriety  of 
retaining  directorships  of  companies  in  cases  where  he 
exercised  no  control  over  their  affairs,  and  in  1908  he 
formed  the  determination  to  retire  as  quickly  and  grace- 
fully as  he  could  from  many  of  these  boards.  He 
wished,  too,  to  have  more  leisure  to  spend  with  his  fam- 
ily in  Montreal,  for  in  July  of  the  preceding  year  his 
only  grandchild  was  born — his  son,  "Bennie,"  having 
married  Miss  Edith  Molson,  a  member  of  one  of  Mon- 
treal's oldest  and  most  distinguished  families.  His  joy 
in  his  grandson,  who  was  given  his  own  and  the  family 
names  of  William  Cornelius  Covenhoven,  was  un- 
bounded, and  he  became  at  once  the  child's  devoted  slave 
—"Aladdin  with  the  Wonderful  Lamp." 

Van  Home  had  always  had  a  warm  corner  in  his  heart 
for  children,  and  the  yachting  trips  and  picnics  that 
he  was  wont  to  arrange  for  his  young  friends  at  St. 
Andrews  made  "red-letter  days"  in  their  summer  calen- 
dars. The  perennial  boyishness,  which  his  friends  were 
apt  to  remark  in  his  unquenchable  zest  for  games  and 
tricks,  welled  forth  whenever  he  came  in  contact  with 
children.  The  Cuban  children  were  as  surely  his  friends 
as  their  seniors.  The  big,  cheery  man,  who  spoke  only 
"Ingles"  with  his  tongue,  knew  the  universal  language 
of  childhood's  desires,  and  he  devised  many  little 
treats  for  them. 

"Come,  let 's  go  to  the  circus !"  he  cried  one  day  in 
Santa  Clara,  as,  in  company  with  Robert  Fleming,  Vic- 
tor Morowitz,  and  his  secretary,  he  came  upon  a  circus 
which  had  invaded  the  interior  of  the  island. 


334     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Fan  Home 

As  he  led  them  to  the  gates,  he  caught  sight  of  some 
fifty  little  Cubans  feasting  on  the  music  and  applause 
that  came  from  within  the  circus-tent,  their  small  feet 
set  in  the  sawdust  that  fringed  a  small  boy's  paradise, 
wide  eyes  and  ears  straining  through  every  tiny  open- 
ing in  the  canvas  walls. 

"Lynch,"  he  called  to  his  secretary,  "we  must  let  some 
of  these  boys  in !" 

Setting  Lynch  to  round  up  the  boys,  he  stood  at 
the  entrance  and  held  out  his  arm. 

"All  who  can  pass  under  this  go  in." 

The  small  boys  came  first,  and  raced  off  into  the 
magic  circle.  Noting  the  height  of  the  arm,  the  bigger 
boys  held  back,  but  the  day  of  miracles  is  never  past, 
and  while  the  arm  seemed  never  to  move,  the  last  and 
tallest  of  the  boys  could  pass  under  it  at  the  end.  Van 
Home  and  his  party  trailed  in  after  the  crowd  of  young- 
sters, and  had  undiluted  enjoyment  in  their  ecstatic  rap- 
tures. 

Traveling  one  day  between  Vancouver  and  Spokane, 
he  joined  two  children  in  the  sleeping-car  and  began  to 
play  with  them  and  amuse  them  with  sleight-of-hand 
tricks.  Pulling  out  his  watch,  he  remarked  that  the 
timepiece  was  very  remarkable,  inasmuch  as  it  was  able 
to  tell  him  many  surprising  things.  "For  instance,"  he 
said,  "it  tells  me  that  your  names  are  .  .  .  and  .  .  .  and 
that  you  come  from  Greenwich,  Connecticut."  He  had 
played  with  them  four  years  before  on  a  New  England 
train,  and  had  remembered  their  names  and  their  home, 
and  had  recognized  them  notwithstanding  the  changes 
that  four  years'  growth  and  development  had  made  in 
them. 

In  April,  1909,  he  took  Lady  Van  Home  and  his 
daughter  to  Europe,  visiting  London,  Amsterdam,  and 


Mistaken  for  King  Edward  335 

Paris.  Adding  to  his  collection  of  paintings  Rem- 
brandt's "Jewish  Rabbi"  from  the  Rudolph  Kann  collec- 
tion, Murillo's  famous  "Cavalier"  from  the  Leuchten- 
burg  collection,  and  Hoppner's  beautiful  "Countess  Wal- 
degrave,"  he  sent  a  post-card  every  day,  from  the  day  of 
sailing  until  his  return,  to  his  infant  grandson  in  Mon- 
treal. On  these  post-cards  he  drew  or  washed  in  colour 
a  series  of  sketches,  suggesting  the  movements  and 
doings  of  the  party  and  depicting  himself  in  many  of 
them  as  an  elephant. 

At  this  period  of  his  life  Van  Home  bore  some  slight 
general  resemblance  to  the  late  King  Edward — suffi- 
cient to  cause  an  occasional  mistake.  One  evening  in 
Paris  he  took  his  son  and  Lord  Elphinstone  to  dinner  at 
Henri's,  where,  with  Lord  Elphinstone  in  attendance, 
His  Majesty  frequently  dined,  incognito.  On  the  ar- 
rival of  the  party,  the  head  waiter  came  forward  with 
much  empresscmcnt  to  receive  them,  and  the  orchestra, 
to  Van  Home's  great  embarrassment,  played  "God  Save 
the  King." 

Returning  from  the  continent,  the  party  spent  Whit- 
suntide with  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward  at  her  place  near 
Tring,  where  they  saw  the  incomparable  beauty  of  rural 
England  in  its  flowering  springtime.  On  the  train  from 
Tring  to  London  the  guard,  on  taking  the  tickets,  turned 
to  Miss  Van  Home  and  said,  apropos  of  her  father, 
"If  this  gentleman  were  less  stout  and  not  so  tall,  I 
should  take  him  for  King  Edward." 

Some  time  after  his  return  from  Europe  he  heard 
from  his  distant  kinswoman,  Lady  Nicholson  of  Stan- 
stead  Abbotts  in  Hertfordshire,  who,  like  himself,  was  a 
direct  descendant  of  Jan  Cornelissen  Van  Home,  but 
through  Elizabeth,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Augustus 
Van  Home  and  married  a  Bayard.  Lady  Nicholson 


336     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

sought  to  verify  their  kinship,  and  referred  to  a  Count 
Hoorn  (Van  Home)  and  a  Count  d'Egmont  (who  was 
also  a  Hoorn),  both  of  whom  she  found  in  her  great- 
grandmother's  pedigree.  In  the  course  of  a  charming 
reply  he  could  not  resist  poking  fun  at  family  trees, 
"which  are  so  apt  to  be  questionable  about  the  roots," 
and  said,  "I  should  be  truly  shocked  at  learning  that  any 
of  us  descended  from  Count  d'Egmont,  for  he  was  never 
married."  But,  lest  his  kinswoman  should  be  too 
greatly  disturbed  by  this  disconcerting  and,  in  fact,  un- 
true statement,  he  added,  "I  can  only  assure  you  that  I 
have  never  heard  any  ill  report  of  a  Van  Home,  save 
that  of  the  old  Buccaneer  of  the  South  Seas ;  and  even 
he  may  not  have  been  so  bad  as  the  Spanish  and  the 
English  painted  him." 

Dropping  out  of  one  company  after  another,  he  had 
withdrawn  before  the  spring  of  1910  from  the  boards  of 
"something  like  thirty  companies,"  and  then  stated  that 
he  should  shortly  give  up  active  connection  with  every 
enterprise  except  the  Cuba  Company,  "which  I  intend 
to  stick  to  as  long  as  I  can,  for  I  have  a  very  great  affec- 
tion for  it."  The  only  severance  that  caused  him  a 
pang  was  the  relinquishment  in  the  spring  of  the  chair- 
manship of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  an  office  which  he  de- 
scribed as  "a  nominal  one,  not  at  all  useful  and  hardly 
ornamental." 

"I  am  getting  old,"  he  said  to  interviewers,  "and  it  is 
irksome  to  watch  the  clock.  It  may  become  depressing. 
I  do  not  wish  to  keep  up  even  the  appearance  of  attend- 
ing to  business." 

But  he  still  remained  a  director  of  a  score  of  important 
railway  and  business  corporations  and  the  president  of 
half-a-dozen. 

When  he  had  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the 


Resigns  Chairmanship  of  Canadian  Pacific     337 

Canadian  Pacific,  the  company's  stock  was  selling  above 
par ;  now,  on  his  withdrawal  from  the  chairmanship,  it 
had  a  market  value  of  over  two  hundred  dollars  a  share. 
His  faith  in  the  prosperity  of  the  company  never  wav- 
ered, and  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War,  his 
forecasts  of  its  progress,  which,  he  said,  "were  not 
prophecies,  but-  mere  calculations  upon  known  condi- 
tions," were  fulfilled  with  remarkable  exactness. 

In  1899  he  was  traveling  from  Toronto  with  Colling- 
wood  Schreiber  and  others  in  his  private  car.  He 
turned  abruptly  to  Schreiber  and  said: 

"If  you  have  that  little  red  book  of  yours  here, 
Schreiber,  turn  up  that  statement  of  mine  about  the 
C.  P.  R.  stock  reaching  par." 

A  few  years  earlier,  when  prospects  were  anything 
but  rosy,  he  had  predicted  that  C.  P.  R.  stock  would 
touch  par  by  1900.  Schreiber  verified  the  prediction. 
The  stock  was  that  day  selling  above  102. 

"Now  add,"  said  Van  Home,  "C.  P.  R.  stock  will 
touch  200  by  1910."  His  guests  regarded  this  as  a  vain 
imagining,  but  the  stock  sold  at  over  206  in  1910  and 
climbed  fifty  points  higher  in  the  following  year. 

Then  a  friend  wrote  congratulating  him  that  another 
of  his  prophecies  had  come  true — the  annual  receipts  of 
the  road  were  in  excess  of  $100,000,000.  Van  Home 
replied  joyously  with  a  further  prediction  that  before 
1925  the  earnings  would  have  leaped  to  $200,000,000. 
For  him,  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  the  "economic  bar- 
ometer of  Canada"  and  its  earnings  an  accurate  indica- 
tion of  the  prosperity  of  the  country  to  which  it  so 
largely  contributed.  On  the  eve  of  the  great  catastro- 
phe he  said:  "There  are  two  stocks  of  which  I  will  never 
sell  a  share.  One  is  the  Canadian  Pacific.  I  believe 
that  some  day  every  share  will  be  worth  a  thousand." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

IQIO-II.      LIFE  IN  CUBA.       SARDINE  PLANT.      TOWN- 
PLANNING.      VIEWS  ON  IMPERIALISM.      RECIPROCITY 
AND  GENERAL  ELECTION  IN  CANADA. 

VAN   HORNE'S   affection  for   Cuba   increased 
with  his  years. 
"When  grey  begins  to  show  in  a  man's  hair, 
then  it  is  time  to  spend  part  of  the  winter  in  the  south, 
and  it  requires  no  effort  to  live  in  Cuba." 

He  revelled  in  the  island's  sunny  warmth  and  in  the 
courtesy  and  friendliness  of  its  people.  He  was  as  sen- 
sitive to  aspersions  on  their  good  repute  as  one  of  them- 
selves. Editors  who  published  sensational  reports  of 
Cuban  risings  felt  the  lash  of  his  indignation  for  failing 
to  discover  "the  finger-marks  of  the  fakir"  in  despatches 
from  "left-over  representatives  of  the  Northern  press." 

"A  general  leaving  town  without  any  apparent  reason 
is  'taking  to  the  woods'  to  start  an  insurrection;  and  a 
movement  of  a  detachment  of  the  Rural  Guard,  a  move- 
ment of  the  Cuban  army.  ...  I  venture  to  say,  in  this 
case,  that  the  general  in  question  went  out  to  buy  cattle 
or  sweet  potatoes,  or  on  some  other  business  of  the 
kind." 

Again,  on  receiving  a  copy  of  some  verses  on  the 
theme  of  the  "white  man's  burden,"  entitled  "Uncle 
Sam's  Birds,"  he  wrote,  "I  look  upon  such  expressions 
as  only  irritating.  ...  I  feel  just  as  little  sympathy  with 
the  recent  lines  of  Mr.  Kipling  on  a  similar  subject,  your 
lines  being,  no  doubt,  like  his,  very  good,  but  the  pre- 
338 


Pleasant  Days  in  Cuba  339 

vailing  sentiment,  without  doubt,  damned  bad  and  un- 
neighbourly." 

On  April  21,  1910,  he  wrote  to  Senor  Gonzalo  de  Que- 
sada,  the  Cuban  Minister  at  Washington: 

It  was  really  through  you  that  I  was  first  attracted  to  Cuba,  and 
although  this  has  involved  me  in  vastly  more  care  and  hard  work 
than  I  expected,  I  have  been  amply  rewarded  by  the  thought  that 
I  have  been  of  some  use  in  helping  the  people  of  that  lovable 
island.  I  have  not  yet  had  any  return  for  the  large  amount  of 
money  I  invested  there  during  the  last  nine  years,  but  I  am  confi- 
dent that  the  returns  will  begin  to  come  in  before  long.  I  feel  that 
I  am  only  building  for  a  certain  future.  It  is  most  gratifying  to 
me  that  what  I  have  done  has  been  so  warmly  appreciated  by  the 
people  of  all  parts  of  Cuba.  I  have  been  treated  with  the  greatest 
kindness  and  consideration  throughout,  and  this  has  gone  far 
toward  making  my  hard  work  a  pleasure. 

At  this  period  of  his  life  nothing  so  savoured  of  the 
fullness  of  pleasure  as  the  happy  months  he  devoted 
every  year  to  looking  after  the  construction  of  branch 
lines  and  to  bringing  the  railway  and  all  the  subsidiary 
enterprises  to  the  top  level  of  efficiency.  His  life  on  the 
island  was  simple.  Always  up  early  in  the  morning,  he 
had  plenty  to  occupy  him  in  the  routine  of  railway 
administration  and  operation,  the  sugar-mill  and 
plantations  (now  greatly  extended)  at  Jatibonico,  the 
experimental  farm  near  Camagiiey,  and  another  large 
sugar-mill  and  plantation  at  Jobabo;  or  in  lending  his 
assistance  to  the  erection  of  new  docks  at  Havana  which 
would  revolutionize  the  century-old  methods  of  loading 
and  discharging  cargoes  at  the  capital  port.  As  at  St. 
Andrews  and  Selkirk,  he  played  with  breeding  horses 
and  cattle,  and  since  he  was  never  completely  happy 
unless  building  something,  he  now  resolved  on  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  home  in  Cuba — a  resting-place  where 
he  would  spend  some  of  his  declining  days.  He  selected 


340    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

a  site  in  the  high  and  healthful  interior  at  Camagiiey,  and 
began  to  draw  designs  for  a  palatial  residence  in  the 
Spanish  style,  with  a  patio  and  terraced  gardens. 
When  this  new  home — "San  Zenon  des  Buenos  Aires" 
— was  complete  in  every  charming  detail,  he  would  bring 
his  family  there  and  astonish  them  with  the  beauties  of 
a  place  created  as  if  by  magic  at  his  call. 

Before  beginning  San  Zenon,  he  built  new  green- 
houses and  enlarged  his  summer  home  at  Covenhoven. 
The  extension  included  quarters  for  his  little  grandson, 
which  were  furnished  and  decorated  throughout  in  the 
low  tones  of  blue  and  white  of  the  popular  Delft  earth- 
enware. Everything  in  and  about  the  rooms  was  of 
Dutch  design,  and  around  the  walls  of  the  nursery  he 
painted  with  his  own  hand  a  deep  frieze  which  depicts 
Dutch  children  at  play  in  their  quaint  costumes.  It 
bears  the  legend:  'Tainted  in  the  summer  of  1910,  in 
commemoration  of  the  third  Birthday  of  William  Cor- 
nelius Covenhoven  Van  Home,  by  his  loving  grand- 
father." 

At  Covenhoven  he  found  another  new  amusement. 
Believing  and  preaching  that  Canada  should  utilize  her 
natural  resources  and  not  rely  upon  the  United  States 
and  Europe  for  the  finished  products,  he  was  ready  to 
demonstrate  the  strength  of  his  convictions  when  a  pro- 
posal was  made  to  him  to  start  a  factory  for  the  curing 
and  packing  of  sardines.  Persuaded  that  the  immense 
shoals  of  young  fish  that  came  up  with  the  tide  between 
his  island  and  the  mainland  were  too  valuable  to  be 
wasted,  he  enlisted  the  interest  of  several  of  his  friends 
and  organized  a  company.  The  canning  plant  was 
erected  at  Chamcook,  about  two  miles  from  Covenhoven 
and  four  from  St.  Andrews,  and  since  local  and  expe- 
rienced labour  for  the  industry  was  not  available,  he 


An  Unfortunate  Enterprise  341 

arranged  to  bring  some  scores  of  young  women  from 
Norway  to  pack  the  fish.  To  provide  house  accommo- 
dation for  them,  he  designed  and  built  dormitories  and 
a  central  building  with  dining  and  recreation  rooms. 
But  the  enterprise  was  unfortunate  from  the  beginning. 
When  the  Scandinavian  women  arrived,  essential  parts 
of 'the  machinery  were  still  lacking  and  the  work  could 
not  be  begun.  The  capital  outlay  was  too  large,  and 
rendered  the  company  ill-fitted  to  compete  with  other 
canning  concerns  that  were  operating  successfully  with 
far  more  modest  plants  and  with  far  lighter  overhead 
charges. 

"When  I  saw  Van  Home  on  the  site  with  his  paper 
and  pencil,  sketching  plans  for  the  dormitories,  I  knew 
my  $25,000  was  gone/'  said  one  of  his  associates. 

Many  of  the  women  were  lured  away  to  other  facto- 
ries. The  management  was  inefficient.  When  the 
plant  was  in  running  order,  the  fish  chose  to  frequent 
other  waters  for  a  season.  He  nursed  the  company  for 
two  or  three  years,  and  had  invested  $200,000  in  it  when 
the  Great  War  broke  out  and  upset  all  business.  Then, 
his  age  and  the  state  of  his  health  making  it  impossible 
for  him  to  give  it  his  own  active  supervision,  the  plant 
changed  hands,  the  original  shareholders  realizing  very 
little  on  their  investment. 

To  return,  however,  to  1910.  His  retirement  from 
the  chairmanship  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  and  his  partial 
withdrawal  from  business  suggested  to  friends  that  his 
energies  might  now  be  turned  to  public  affairs.  Vari- 
ous public  positions  were  offered  to  him  and  declined. 
Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  asked  him  to  undertake  the  chair- 
manship of  the  Transportation  Commission,  but  al- 
though his  lifelong  interest  in  transportation  problems 
made  this  the  one  position  he  would  care  to  fill,  he  felt 


342     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

obliged  to  refuse  it  on  account  of  his  affairs  in  Cuba,  / 
which  frequently  took  him  away  from  Canada  for  weeks 
at  a  time. 

He  accepted,  however,  a  new  responsibility,  which  he 
regarded  less  as  a  public  office  than  as  a  duty  that  he 
owed  to  the  city  in  which  he  had  lived  for  thirty  years. 
At  the  request  of  Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  the  Premier  of 
Quebec,  he  assumed  the  chairmanship  of  the  Metro- 
politan Parks  Commission,  appointed  to  report  a  plan 
for  the  improvement  of  Montreal  and  its  environs.  He 
had  always  been  an  ardent  apostle  of  the  beautification  of 
towns  and  cities,  of  wide  streets  and  thoroughfares,  of 
adequate  parks  and  playgrounds.  His  plans  for  farming- 
villages  in  the  prairies  had  never  been  adopted  by  the 
Canadian  government,  but  they  had  received  enthusias- 
tic recognition  in  other  quarters.  Lord  Grey,  who 
classed  him  with  Cecil  Rhodes  as  one  of  the  few  practi- 
cal idealists  whom  one  met  in  life's  journey,  had  begged 
for  his  diagrams  for  Lord  Selborne,  the  High  Commis- 
sioner of  South  Africa,  and  for  the  British  South- 
Africa  Company.  They  had  excited  the  interest  of  Rud- 
yard  Kipling,  who  was  also  interested  in  the  settlement 
of  South  Africa,  Booth  Tucker  of  the  Salvation  Army, 
and  others  interested  in  colonizing,  as  well  as  the  pro- 
fessional experts,  Henry  Vivian,  Thomas  Mawson, 
David  Burnham,  and  Nolin  Cauchon,  the  Canadian. 

Now  a  wave  of  enthusiasm  for  city-planning,  garden 
suburbs,  parks  and  playgrounds  had  swept  over  from 
the  United  States  into  Canada  and  was  everywhere 
stimulated  by  the  untiring  encouragement  of  the  Gov- 
ernor-General, Lord  Grey.  Olmstead  was  brought  in 
from  the  United  States,  and  Vivian  and  Mawson  from 
England,  to  address  innumerable  meetings  of  citizens. 


Town-Planning  343 

Groups  in  every  progressive  city  became  actively  alive 
to  the  value  of  adequate  civic  centres.  Ambitious  west- 
ern cities,  deploring  their  mushroom  growth  and  match- 
box architecture,  paid  high  prices  for  plans  to  guide 
their  future  construction.  Provincial  legislatures  en- 
acted excellent  town-planning  acts.  The  Laurier  gov- 
ernment set  an  example  in  undertaking  an  extensive 
scheme  for  the  beautification  of  Ottawa.  And  at  last 
a  group  of  enlightened  citizens  had  succeeded  in  stirring 
the  Quebec  government  to  appoint  a  commission  to  plan 
the  future  of  Montreal. 

Distrustful  of  political  bodies  and  believing  that  mu- 
nicipal development  should  be  treated  on  business  lines, 
and  not  as  a  matter  of  philanthropy,  Van  Home  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  con  amore.  His  work  in  planning 
railway-stations  and  hotels,  their  sites  and  approaches, 
in  Canada  and  Cuba,  and  in  laying  out  and  beau- 
tifying the  grounds  of  Covenhoven  and  San  Zenon, 
whetted  his  appetite  for  larger  plans.  He  set  to 
work  immediately  with  W.  D.  Lighthall,  a  member 
of  the  commission,  and  with  him  determined  that  their 
first  recommendations  should  deal  with  the  improve- 
ment of  the  houses  and  the  provision  of  air  spaces  in  the 
poorer  districts  of  the  city.  Before  making  any  recom- 
mendation, however,  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  survey 
of  the  city  on  which  to  base  the  recommendations. 
These  would  be  kept  within  reasonable  limits  and  would 
form  part  of  a  comprehensive  plan,  which  could  be  de- 
veloped gradually  as  it  became  financially  possible  for 
the  municipal  authorities  to  carry  it  out.  Olmstead 
was  invited  from  Philadelphia  to  advise  them. 

But  the  Quebec  government  had  failed  to  make  any 
appropriation  for  the  commission's  expenses.  The  City 


344     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Council,  which  should  have  supported  it,  was  dominated 
by  a  group  of  men  who,  destitute  of  civic  pride  and 
without  a  single  ideal  of  good  citizenship,  saw  no 
tortuous  method  of  turning  the  wrork  of  the  commis- 
sion to  their  own  immediate  personal  profit.  For  four 
years  the  commission  sought  fruitlessly  to  obtain  funds. 
Before  that  period  was  over,  financial  depression  had 
set  in.  The  phenomenal  prosperity  which  the  country 
had  enjoyed  during  the  building  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific,  the  National  Transcontinental,  and  the  Canadian 
Northern  railways  was  accompanied  everywhere  by  a 
riotous  speculation  in  land  values  and  extravagant  bor- 
rowings by  municipalities.  The  cessation  of  large  rail- 
way expenditures  was  inevitably  followed  by  a  collapse  of 
the  land  boom  and  by  financial  depression.  The  furore 
for  town-planning  died  away.  No  financial  assistance 
was  ever  given  the  commission,  "not  even  a  postage 
stamp,"  and  Van  Home's  goodwill  and  that  of  his  col- 
leagues was  hopelessly  exhausted.  Eventually,  in  April, 
1914,  he  suggested  that  the  commission  should  defray 
by  personal  contributions  the  obligations  they  had  in- 
curred, and  then  dissolve.  The  commission  was,  as  he 
remarked,  "still-born." 

Few  had  striven  more  than  Van  Home  to  build  up  the 
trade  of  Canada,  and  few  had  ever  been  in  a  position 
to  do  so  much.  He  often  had  complained  bitterly  of 
governmental  sloth  and  lack  of  enterprise,  and  had 
praised  the  Kaiser  for  throwing  his  imperial  prestige 
and  influence  into  the  scales  to  promote  the  growth  of 
German  trade.  He  resisted  all  of  the  many  recurrent 
attempts  to  win  his  support  to  British  imperialism,  even 
the  imperialism  of  Joseph  Chamberlain,  founded,  as  it 
was,  on  trade  relations  within  the  Empire. 

To  a  soliciting  propagandist  he  wrote : 


Imperialism  and  Reciprocity  345 

There  are  innumerable  organizations  with  Imperial  objects  in 
view,  but  no  one  of  them  has  as  yet,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  accom- 
plished anything  of  consequence.  Imperial  unity  depends  upon 
two  things — the  need  of  common  defence  and  trade  considera- 
tions; indeed,  trade  considerations  may  be  mentioned  alone,  for 
these  in  the  end  will  override  all  other  questions.  Patriotic  senti- 
ments have  never  in  the  history  of  the  world  stood  long  against 
the  pocket-book.  This  is  an  unhappy  truth  which  cannot  be 
escaped.  They  who  contribute  to  the  upbuilding  of  trade  within 
the  Empire  do  vastly  more  towards  the  permanency  of  the  Empire 
than  those  who  contribute  ships  of  war.  Trade  established,  it 
must  be  protected ;  therefore,  warships.  Ships  of  war  are  not 
built  to  protect  trade  that  may  be,  but  trade  that  is.  From  every 
point  of  view,  trade  is  and  always  will  he  the  vital  question  upon 
which  patriotism,  common  defence,  and  everything  else  will  de- 
pend; therefore,  I  trust  that  you  will  pardon  my  inclination  to 
devote  my  substance  and  my  efforts  to  the  upbuilding  of  King 
Trade. 

Free  trade  within  the  Empire,  or  Imperial  Federation 
based  upon  reciprocal  preferential  relations  between  the 
constituent  parts  of  the  Empire,  conflicted  directly  with 
his  conception  of  the  necessities  of  Canada.  He  was  an 
ardent  supporter  o-f  the  National  Policy.  He  was  con- 
vinced that  it  was  vital  to  a  young  and  growing  country, 
like  Canada,  to  maintain  a  strong  customs  tariff  against 
all  nations  while  she  was  building  up  industries  to 
utilize  her  natural  resources.  The  sudden  announce- 
ment, therefore,  that  the  Laurier  government  had  ar- 
ranged the  terms  of  a  treaty  of  reciprocity  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  President  Taft  filled  him  with  consternation. 

On  February  25,  1911,  he  wrote  Collingwood  Schrei- 
ber: 

We  are  now  being  plunged  into  unknowable  conditions  through 
Reciprocity,  and  I  am  feeling  very  much  depressed.  The  C.  P.  R. 
is  able  to  take  care  of  itself  whatever  may  come,  but  the  splendid 
industrial  and  commercial  situation  of  the  country,  which  has 


346     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

been  brought  about  in  the  last  thirty  years,  is  certain  to  be  dam- 
aged almost  beyond  repair  if  the  pending  agreement  is  ratified, 
as  it  probably  will  be.  We  shall  trail  at  the  tail  of  the  commercial 
cart  of  the  United  States.  Canada  must  largely  lose  her  inde- 
pendence, and  her  splendid  ocean  service  will  suffer  heavily.  The 
results  may  not  be  apparent  for  a  year  or  two ;  it  takes  commerce 
some  little  time  to  adjust  itself  to  radically  changed  conditions. 
Among  other  things  it  will  take  J.  J.  Hill  two  or  three  years  to 
raid  the  Canadian  Northwest,  as  he  surely  intends  in  the  event 
of  reciprocity.  I  am  disgusted  and  discouraged,  and  am  seeking 
new  words  to  adequately  curse  those  who  are  responsible  for  this 
childish  performance ;  and  the  country  will  need  lots  of  such  words 
shortly. 

The  reciprocity  proposal  came  to  him,  as  to  most 
Canadians,  with  all  the  elements  of  a  surprise.  As  a 
capitalist  and  still  the  captain  of  various  important  Ca- 
nadian enterprises,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  be 
alarmed.  But  his  Canadian  interests  were  strongly  en- 
trenched and  secure  from  the  dangers  of  political 
changes.  Their  protection  was  the  least  element  in  his 
concern.  He  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  in  the  proposed 
agreement  "the  splendid  work  of  generations  traded 
away — our  industrial  position  sold — for  a  few  wormy 
plums." 

"Our  trade/'  he  said,  "is  $97  per  capita;  that  of  the 
United  States,  $33.  In  other  words,  the  water  in  our 
millpond  stands  at  97,  theirs  at  33 ;  and  they  want  us  to 
take  down  the  dam."  "Who  would  give  up  four  aces  in 
the  hope  of  getting  a  straight-flush?"  "Shall  we  play 
gosling  to  the  American  fox?" 

He  saw  in  dire  peril  his  own  splendid  achievements 
and  those  of  his  associates  in  the  building  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway,  with  its  numerous  spurs  and  far- 
flung  branches,  and  in  the  development  of  the  whole 
country  tributary  to  it.  The  currents  of  trade  would 


Fighting  the  Reciprocity  Pact  347 

no  longer  flow  east  to  west  and  from  west  to  east,  but 
from  north  to  south  and  from  south  to  north. 

"Shall  we  be  permitted  to  recede  from  reciprocity/' 
he  asked,  "when  Mr.  Hill  has  extended  his  seven  or  eight 
lines  of  railway  into  the  Canadian  Northwest — lines 
which  have  for  some  years  been  resting  their  noses  on 
the  boundary  line,  waiting  for  reciprocity  or  something 
of  the  kind  to  warrant  them  in  crossing — and  when 
other  American  channels  of  trade  have  been  established 
affecting  our  territory,  and  when  the  American  millers 
have  tasted  our  wheat  and  the  American  manufacturers 
have  got  hold  of  our  markets?  Shall  we  be  permitted 
to  recede  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it !  We  are  making  a  bed  to 
lie  in — and  die  in." 

Loyal  to  the  core  to  his  adopted  country  and  abso- 
lutely convinced  that  ruinous  consequences  would  flow 
from  ratification  of  the  reciprocity  pact,  Van  Home 
took  off  his  coat  and  threw  himself  into  the  fray. 

"I  am  out/'  he  said  to  a  reporter,  "to  do  all  I  can  to 
bust  the  damn  thing." 

The  reciprocity  proposals  divided  Canada  into  two 
camps.  Laurier  was  faced  with  bitter  and  determined 
opposition  in  Parliament.  A  large  section  of  the  Cana- 
dian people  regarded  reciprocity  as  the  thin  end  of  a 
wedge  that  would  destroy  the  country's  fiscal  inde- 
pendence, sunder  her  connection  with  the  British  Em- 
pire, and  soon  entail  her  annexation  to  the  United 
States.  They  had  ground  for  thinking  so,  and  could 
prove  the  soundness  of  their  views  out  of  the  mouths  of 
President  Taft,  Senator  Beveridge,  and  other  American 
statesmen,  who  had  indiscreetly  betrayed  their  expecta- 
tion of  such  a  result. 

Sentiment  for  British  connection  or  antagonism  to 
the  American  flag  had  no  place  in  Van  Home's  mind. 


348     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

He  was  only  bent  on  preserving  for  Canada  the  trade 
that  she  had  slowly  built  up  in  spite  of  the  Dingley  Tar- 
iff, "which  crowned  the  United  States'  tariff  walls  with 
broken  glass  bottles  and  barbed  wire."  Prevented  by 
that  high  wall  from  expanding  her  trade  in  its  natural 
channels,  she  had  found  herself  and  her  powers  in  de- 
veloping a  foreign  trade  and  a  merchant  marine  which 
were  relatively  far  bigger  than  those  of  her  giant  neigh- 
bour. Canada  must  not  now  be  enticed  to  pass  through 
that  wall  by  any  breach  and  pay  tribute  to  the  American 
manufacturers  who  had  erected  it  with  the  special  ob- 
ject of  keeping  out  Canadian  products.  To  illustrate 
the  danger  to  the  transportation  systems  of  the  country, 
Van  Home  prepared  convincing  little  maps  which 
showed  the  railroads  controlled  by  J.  J.  Hill,  with  six- 
teen branch  lines  laid  to  the  Canadian  border.  As  ar- 
dently as  Hill,  the  born  Canadian  and  the  most  far- 
sighted  and  statesmanlike  economist  of  the  time  in 
America,  was  working  for  reciprocity,  Van  Home,  the 
son  of  Illinois,  was  working  in  Canada  to  kill  it. 

Deadlocked  on  the  reciprocity  pact,  the  Canadian  Par- 
liament was  dissolved,  and  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  went  to 
the  country  on  the  issue.  Pressed  by  the  Conservative 
party  to  contest  a  constituency,  Van  Home  declined, 
because  he  was  "neither  a  politician  nor  a  speaker." 
An  admirable  raconteur,  patient  and  lucid  in  exposition, 
and  unerring  in  his  approach  to  the  heart  of  a  p'roblem, 
he  was  painfully  deficient  as  a  speechmaker.  Not  even 
when  presiding  over  a  meeting  of  the  shareholders  of 
one  of  his  own  companies  did  he  make  an  advantageous 
appearance.  "Man  to  man  he  was  invincible,"  but  he 
made  a  poor  figure  on  his  feet.  No  effort  of  his  strong 
will,  and  he  made  many,  enabled  him  to  overcome  the 
diffidence  arising  from  an  excess  of  self-consciousness 


Fighting  the  Reciprocity  Pact  349 

and  an  instinctive  hypercriticism  of  the  forms  of  ad- 
dress. He  suffered  all  the  agonies  of  stage-fright,  and 
acknowledged,  "I  always  make  a  damn  fool  of  myself 
when  I  get  on  my  feet."  This  defect  undoubtedly  made 
him  shrink  from  filling  that  place  in  the  public  life  of 
Canada  and  Montreal  for  which  his  other  preeminent 
qualities  so  well  fitted  him.  But  now,  under  the  urgency 
of  the  peril  threatening  the  country — so  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  reciprocity  proposals  which  he  had 
fought  in  1891 — he  conquered  his  reluctance  to  speak  in 
public  and  addressed  meetings  in  St.  Andrews,  St.  John, 
and  Montreal.  His  speeches  were  devoid  of  all  rhetori- 
cal art,  and  he  was  compelled  to  read  them,  but  his 
closely  reasoned  arguments,  replete  with  terse  epigram- 
matic phrases  and  vital  with  power  and  conviction,  were 
carried  by  the  press  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
They  probably  contributed  more  than  the  utterances  of 
any  one  man  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  boundary  to 
the  overwhelming  defeat  of  Laurier  and  reciprocity  at 
the  polls.  In  the  election,  which  ended  a  campaign  sur- 
passing in  intensity  those  of  1891  and  1896,  Van  Home 
cast  the  first  political  vote  of  his  busy  life,  and  was 
frankly  jubilant  over  the  result. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  reciprocity  is  dead  and  beyond 
the  hope  of  resurrection,  and  count  on  remaining  in  the 
shade  of  my  vine  and  fig-tree  the  rest  of  my  life." 

He  hoped  and  expected  great  things  of  the  new  gov- 
ernment, which  should  "set  up  a  standard  of  morality 
which  nobody  will  dare  in  the  future  to  lower,  such  a 
standard  as  was  set  up  by  President  Cleveland  at  Wash- 
ington. .  .  .  The  most  important  thing  is  a  perfectly 
clean  ministry,  without  a  man  in  it  whose  reputation  has 
been  at  all  smirched." 

Having  assisted  in  electing  the  new  government,  he 


350    The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

felt  justified,  while  rejecting  every  suggestion  of  office 
for  himself,  in  offering  his  advice  upon  cabinet-making 
and  policy. 

"And  now/'  he  wrote  the  new  Prime  Minister,  Robert 
L.  Borden,  "may  I  once  only  .  .  .  obtrude  one  or  two 
suggestions  as  to  the  future.  The  Conservatives  of 
Canada  have  been  long  enough  out  of  power  to  have  lost 
the  office-holding  habit,  and  there  are  few  'left-overs' 
to  claim  anything.  You  can,  therefore,  commence  with 
new  and  sound  materials  and  build  an  enduring  struc- 
ture, and  one  that  will  stand  as  a  model  for  future  gov- 
ernments. ...  A  benignant  Dictator  is  what  we  need- 
one  who  will  not  hesitate  to  kick  friend  or  foe  in  the  in- 
terest of  honesty  and  good  government/' 

The  new  Premier  "should  never/'  he  wrote,  "permit 
anybody  to  doubt  for  a  minute  that  he  is  The  Leader. 
Laurier  made  the  mistake,  in  the  first  place,  of  taking 
in  too  many  leaders,  and  he  never  has  been  the  actual 
boss.  If  he  had  been,  he  would  not  have  let  Fielding 
run  away  with  him  in  the  Reciprocity  matter,  nor  would 
he  have  permitted  a  good  many  other  things  in  other 
Departments.  He  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  danger 
of  an  honest  head  and  a  soft  heart." 

Van  Home  made  a  forcible  plea  that  the  Georgian 
Bay  Canal  should  not  be  permitted  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  promoters,  and  vigorously  urged  upon  the  Premier's 
closest  friends  the  cutting  out  of  "four  cancerous  spots 
on  the  body  politic" ;  the  administration  of  public  lands 
by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  and  the  political  ad- 
ministration of  Public  Works  and  of  the  National 
Transcontinental  and  Intercolonial  railways.  He  was 
convinced  that  if  administered  on  strictly  business  lines, 
the  Intercolonial  could  be  made  to  pay  a  reasonable  sum 
into  the  national  treasury  every  year,  instead  of  inflict- 


A  Change  of  Government  351 

ing  an  annual  drain  upon  it.  To  this  end,  he  advised 
taking  the  Intercolonial  out  of  politics  and  putting  it 
into  the  hands  of  three  competent  commissioners. 

Notwithstanding  his  long  experience,  his  letters  at 
this  time  disclose  a  naive  credulity  in  the  fulfilment  of 
pre-election  promises  of  reforms  and  improvements. 
He  had  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  Premier  would  carry 
out  his  promise  "to  take  vigorous  steps  toward  the  neces- 
sary means  of  transportation  to  enable  the  Maritime 
Provinces  to  reach  the  Cuban,  West  Indian,  and  Central 
American  markets.'*  He  regarded  it  as  certain  that  the 
government  would  at  once  actively  advance  the  building 
of  steel  ships  in  Canada  to  build  up  a  notable  merchant 
marine,  and  thought  that  the  tonnage  bounty  that  would 
necessarily  be  granted  "would  be  a  better  use  of  public 
money  than  has  been  made  for  a  good  while." 

He  had  not  lost  his  warm  regard  for  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier.  But  it  was  with  mixed  motives  that,  two  days 
after  the  election,  he  suggested  that  Sir  Wilfrid  should 
be  offered  the  High  Commissionership  in  London,  for, 
he  said,  "as  High  Commissioner  he  would  be  out  of  pol- 
itics, and  his  appointment  would  take  away  from  the 
remnant  of  the  Liberal  party  every  atom  of  respecta- 
bility." But  Sir  Wilfrid  elected  to  remain  in  the  House 
of  Commons  and  lead  his  vanquished  party.  Other  sug- 
gestions were  either  ignored  or  failed  of  adoption.  The 
one  man  he  wanted  to  see  in  the  cabinet  was  left  out; 
and  the  one  whom  he  wished  to  see  excluded,  because 
"he  would  bring  any  cabinet  under  suspicion,  no  mat- 
ter who  else  might  be  in  it,"  was  taken  in.  Nor  was  he 
destined  to  see  fulfilled  in  his  lifetime  the  pledges  for 
the  promotion  of  shipping  and  trade  to  which  he  at- 
tached so  much  importance. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

1912-14.  FESTIVAL  AT  JOLIET.  A  WHIMSICAL 
LETTER.  HUMBUG.  THE  KEY  TO  SUCCESS.  ILL- 
NESS. READING.  CONVALESCENCE.  LAST  VISIT  TO 

EUROPE. 

AFTER  the  close  of  the  election  campaign  Van 
Home  began,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  to  enjoy 
a  life  of  comparative  leisure.  Apprehensive  of 
a  period  of  general  financial  depression,  he  disposed 
of  his  remaining  interest  in  the  Guatemala  Railway 
and  sought  further  to  contract  his  business  respon- 
sibilities to  the  point  where  they  would  give  him  steady 
and  varied  occupation  without  drawing  heavily  upon 
his  time  or  energy.  The  anxiety  of  financing  his  Cuban 
enterprises  was  at  an  end,  for  they  were  at  last  on  a  re- 
munerative basis  and  giving  promise  of  highly  satis- 
factory profits  in  the  immediate  future.  His  visits  to 
Cuba  were  now  in  the  nature  of  holidays,  in  which  he 
could  amuse  himself  with  setting  out  wild  orange,  olean- 
der, hibiscus,  and  bougainvillea  in  the  gardens  of  San 
Zenon,  or  arrange  for  the  importation  and  distribution 
among  the  farmers  of  Africander  cattle  or  of  Basuto- 
Arabian  horses  which  had  become  famous  for  their  en- 
durance as  Boer  cavalry  mounts  in  the  South-African 
War. 

No  one  was  ever  better  equipped  with  resources  for 
his  leisure  hours.  In  Montreal  or  Covenhoven,  when 
he  was  freed  from  his  correspondence  and  the  entertain- 
ment of  his  guests,  he  had  his  romps  with  his  grand- 

352 


A  Festival  at  Joliet  353 

child,  his  farms  and  stock,  the  sardine  plant  at  Cham- 
cook,  and  his  painting.  His  thirst  for  collecting  was  as 
keen  as  ever,  and  as  often  as  the  state  of  his  exchequer 
allowed  he  was  adding  a  Zurbaran,  an  El  Greco,  a  Goya, 
a  van  der  Heist,  a  Hals,  or  some  other  important  can- 
vas to  his  other  Dutch  and  Spanish  pictures  which  made 
his  collection  notable  among  the  art  collections  of  Amer- 
ica. His  taste  was  ever  broadening,  and  examples  of 
post-impressionists — Cezanne,  Stern,  Toulouse  de  Lou- 
tree  and  others — now  found  places  on  his  walls. 

In  the  summer  of  1912  he  added  several  rooms  to 
his  Montreal  house.  He  intended  the  addition  to  be 
a  complete  surprise  to  his  family  on  their  return  to  Mon- 
treal from  Covenhoven  in  the  beginning  of  November. 
It  was  not  quite  finished  then,  but  as  a  surprise  it  was 
very  successful.  It  gave  him  an  interesting  problem  to 
match  the  new  with  the  old,  which  was  low  in  tone, 
partly  through  design  and  partly  through  the  fading- 
processes  of  time.  He  solved  the  problem  to  his  satis- 
faction, and  proudly  pointed  out  to  his  friends  that  the 
new  hangings  were  duly  aged  and  that  no  one  could  tell 
where  the  new  part  began. 

He  set  aside  several  days,  in  June,  1912,  for  a  holi- 
day under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  He  returned  then  to 
Joliet  to  take  part  in  a  Home-coming  Festival  in  the 
town  of  his  boyhood.  Just  fifty  years  had  elapsed  since 
his  appointment  as  the  Chicago  and  Alton's  station- 
agent  in  that  city.  From  every  point  of  the  compass 
came  the  sons  and  daughters  and  former  residents  of 
Joliet,  and  among  them  all,  as  the  world  counts  fame, 
he  was  the  most  illustrious.  But  the  "Old  Boys"  of 
Joliet  rejoiced  less  in  the  record  of  his  achievements  and 
the  tale  of  his  honours  than  in  the  discovery  that,  though 
grey  and  older  and  bigger,  he  was  at  heart  the  "Will  Van 


354     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Home"  of  half-a-century  ago.  All  the  townspeople 
united  to  do  him  honour.  At  a  public  meeting  he  re- 
called for  them  his  first  visit  to  Joliet,  when  his  father 
brought  him  from  Hickory  Creek  to  see  his  first  cir- 
cus, and  some  of  the  incidents  of  his  early  struggles. 
He  visited  the  site  of  his  old  home  and  the  graves  of  his 
parents,  and  found  still  living  the  aged  woman  who  had 
taught  him  in  the  old  brick  school-house.  He  ex- 
changed memories  and  swapped  stories  with  surviving 
members  of  the  erstwhile  Agassiz  Club,  and  with  old 
engineers  and  trainmen  who  had  spun  yarns  with  him 
in  the  little  "Cut-Off"  office. 

In  the  evenings,  on  the  verandah  of  Colonel  Bennett's 
house,  he  delighted  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends 
with  narratives  of  his  modern  Odyssey  and  with  twen- 
tieth-century parables  drawn  from  the  experiences  of  a 
rich  and  varied  life,  or  kindled  their  imagination  with 
some  of  his  unfulfilled  dreams — such  as  an  Atlantic 
ferry-service  of  triple-hulled  steamers,  laid  out  in  ave- 
nues, with  cafes  and  theatres,  and  capable  of  carrying 
thirty  thousand  people  across  the  Atlantic  on  a  single 
voyage.  These  giant  ferry-boats  would  be  built  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  by  damming  up  one  of  the  inlets.  Two 
of  them  would  cost  $42,000,000,  and  they  would  be  built 
and  operated  by  the  only  corporation  in  the  world  capa- 
ble of  such  an  undertaking,  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way Company.  It  might  seem  an  extravagant  dream 
to  many  who  listened,  but  coming  from  the  man  who 
had  returned  to  his  old  home  after  bringing  so  many 
things  to  pass,  none  could  feel  that  this  project  for 
bridging  the  Atlantic  was  beyond  the  bounds  of  possi- 
bility. 

His  hostess  in  Joliet  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Bene- 
dict Reed  and  one  of  the  children  at  the  Reed  home  when 


A  Festival  at  Joliet  355 

he  went  there  to  court  Adaline  Kurd  in  the  days  of  the 
Civil  War.  Her  home  contained  many  familiar  relics, 
and  among  them  he  found  a  picture  of  the  Weber  Valley 
that  he  had  painted  during  his  honeymoon. 

"I  was  n't  half  bad  when  I  painted  that  forty-five 
years  ago/'  he  said  when  he  picked  it  up,  and  then  asked 
that  he  might  take  it  to  Montreal  and  retouch  it  in  the 
light  of  a  more  developed  art. 

He  came  back  to  Montreal  feeling  that  the  reunion 
with  the  friends  of  his  youth  and  early  manhood  had 
been  one  of  the  most  joyful  episodes  of  his  life. 

Like  most,  perhaps  all,  men  who  have  traversed  the 
road  to  success  and  power,  Van  Home  had  gathered 
some  of  the  little  sprigs  of  vanity  by  the  wayside,  and 
these  were  beginning  to  blossom  in  his  declining  years. 
His  droll  and  vivid  stories  of  his  railway  experiences 
were  now  embroidered  in  the  telling,  and  his  unfailing 
sense  of  humour  did  not  quite  divest  the  utterance  of 
his  opinions  from  that  pontifical  cloak  which  is  so  often 
assumed  when  the  day  of  real  achievement  is  drawing 
to  a  close  and  intellectual  power  begins  to  wane.  In  his 
case,  these  signs  of  declension  were  particularly  notice- 
able in  an  effort  at  self-expression  with  his  pen.  He 
had  always  been  a  fastidious  letter-writer,  and  observed 
the  graceful  custom  of  answering  private  letters  in  his 
own  very  original  and  distinguished  hand-writing.  His 
business  and  private  correspondence  was  terse,  clear,  and 
direct — free  from  literariness  and  every  kind  of  affec- 
tation. Sometimes  he  indulged  in  a  playful  and  whim- 
sical letter,  such  as  the  following  to  Sir  William  Peter- 
son, the  Principal  of  McGill  University,  when  the  latter 
sent  him  a  paper  by  Professor  John  Cox  on  Arrhenius's 
theory  of  the  pressure  and  repulsion  of  light.  It  was 
written  in  1905.  when  the  dissolution  of  the  Standard 


356     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

Oil  Trust  was  a  controversial  topic  of  the  business 
world : 

I  have  only  now  had  an  opportunity  to  read  that  exceedingly 
interesting  paper  of  Professor  Cox's  which  you  were  so  good  as 
to  send  me  the  other  day.  If  I  may  speak  of  such  a  trivial  thing 
in  the  face  of  such  a  stupendous  conception  as  the  theory  of 
Arrhenius,  I  may  say  that  the  views  I  expressed  to  you  concerning 
the  Aurora  Borealis  do  not  conflict  with  this  theory:  they  have 
much  the  same  relation  to  it  as  a  flying  feather  to  the  laws  of 
gravitation. 

Professor  Cox's  paper,  perhaps  because  of  its  dealing  with 
luminous  matter,  has  had  a  powerfully  illuminating  effect  upon 
my  mind.  It  has  made  me  think  that  many  ideas  which  we,  in 
our  ignorance,  regard  as  absurd  or  visionary,  are  really  -well 
founded ;  for  instance,  the  common  saying  in  the  West  of  a  con- 
spicuously successful  man,  "he  has  got  the  world  by  the  tail,"  I 
have  always  regarded  as  preposterous ;  but  now  that  I  have  learned 
that  the  world  has  a  tail,  if  not  two  tails,  I  must  regard  this  saying 
more  seriously.  And  now  that  I  know  that  the  world  has  a  tail, 
I  am  giving  anxious  thought  to  the  general  belief  that  Rocke- 
feller has  got  hold  of  it.  I  earnestly  hope  that  we  may  not  be 
disappointed  in  the  second  tail,  and  that  it  may  be  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  world,  where  he  may  not  be  able  to  see  it  or  get  hold 
of  it  without  letting  go  of  the  other.  In  that  case  other  people 
may  have  a  chance — you  or  I,  perhaps.  But  we  should  keep  dark 
about  this  and  stop  any  more  papers  from  Cox  on  the  subject. 
Carnegie  might  hear  of  it  arid  grab  it,  or  the  Emperor  William 
— if,  indeed,  the  Japs  have  not  already  got  it.  Startling  thought ! 
It  must  be  over  on  their  side  somewhere.  And  it  may  be  the 
steering  tail,  and — but  I  must  switch  off  from  this  line  of  thought, 
for  it  is  carrying  me  into  a  maelstrom. 

For  the  credit  and  enduring  fame  of  Arrhenius,  I  hope  there 
may  be  a  second  tail.  The  saying  I  have  quoted  dates  back  to  a 
time  when  Arrhenius  was  not;  and,  clearly,  somebody  out  West 
knew  of  one  tail  before  he  did.  You  will  at  once  appreciate  the 
weight  of  such  evidence  in  determining  questions  of  priority. 
Arrhenius  is  entitled  to  a  good  deal  of  credit,  and  it  will  be  too 
bad  if  he  can't  have  at  least  one  tail. 


A  Gospel  of  Humbug  357 

I  am  thinking  how  suggestive  is  scientific  research.  I  shall  now 
light  another  long  cigar  and  think  again. 

In  these  later  days  of  greater  leisure  he  turned  to 
writing  as  to  an  untried  branch  of  art.  He  wrote  a 
string  of  chiselled  aphorisms  to  form  a  tiny  gospel  of 
Humbug,  which  he  was  wont,  half  in  earnest  and  half 
in  jest,  to  put  forward  as  the  greatest  motive  power  of 
mankind,  and  on  the  whole,  a  beneficent  one.  That  it 
was  not,  for  him,  a  new  doctrine  is  evident  from  a  pas- 
sage in  a  letter,  written  in  1909,  which  also  shows  that 
his  antagonism  to  J.  J.  Hill,  whom  he  had  secured  for 
one  of  the  original  shareholders  of  the  Cuba  Company, 
did  not  extend  beyond  the  clash  of  rival  railway  inter- 
ests: 

"The  greatest  men  of  the  past  were  all  Masters  of 
Humbug,  and  so  are  the  greatest  men  of  to-day,  includ- 
ing our  friend  J.  J.  Hill,  and  I  don't  say  this  in  any 
derogatory  sense,  for  I  feel  a  real  respect  and  admira- 
tion for  him,  because  in  the  main  he  has  applied  his 
mastery  of  Humbug  to  very  useful  purposes,  which  can- 
not be  said  of  most  of  the  great  masters  in  this  line.'* 

To  entrap  such  of  his  friends  as  professed  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  writings  of  Nietzsche,  Van  Home 
wrote  some  apochryphal  discourses  which  he  passed  off 
as  a  newly  discovered  section  of  "Thus  Spake  Zarathus- 
tra,"  and  which  matched  very  closely  the  style,  if  not  the 
substance,  of  that  remarkable  work.  He  was  happier 
in  the  motto  which  he  gave  to  Colonel  Sam  Hughes  for 
the  Canadian  Boy  Scouts :  "Discipline  is  the  foundation 
of  Character  and  the  safeguard  of  Liberty."  But  it  has 
a  familiar  sound. 

His  prominence,  his  breadth  of  knowledge  and  wide 
experience,  and  his  reputation  as  a  story-teller  brought 


358     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

him  many  requests  from  American  and  Canadian  editors 

for  articles.     He  dodged  these  and  others  for  addresses 

at  meetings  of  various  societies  and  public  bodies.     But 

when  it  was  a  question  of  a  message  for  youth,  he  gladly 

responded.     Believing  in  simplicity  of  education  and  in 

stripping  all  non-essentials  from  the  curricula  of  schools, 

he  invariably  pointed  to  WORK  as  the  key  to  success. 

His  "one  best  formula"  for  success  in  any  career  was : 

"Interest — Work — Facility."     The    first    induced    and 

stimulated  the  second,  and  practice  of  the  second  brought 

the  third.     "Nothing  is  too  small  to  know,  and  nothing 

too  big  to  attempt,"  was  one  of  his  favourite  maxims. 

"If  you  approach  a  big  thing,  make  an  extra  effort  and 

do  the  biggest  thing,"  was  another.     When  the  Canadian 

government  was  considering  the  erection  of  a  Canadian 

building  in  London,  he  wrote  Sir  Robert  Borden  that  if 

such  a  centre  were  undertaken,  "it  should  be  done  in  the 

biggest  kind  of  way  ...  to  convey  to  Great  Britain 

and  all  the  world  an  adequate  sense  of  the  wealth  and 

importance  of  Canada." 

In  November,  1913,  he  was  persuaded  to  speak  at  a 
Canadian  Club  luncheon  in  Toronto.  After  the  luncheon 
he  was  seized  with  a  chill,  followed  by  a  sharp  attack  of 
inflammatory  rheumatism/  He  hurriedly  changed  his 
plans  for  a  brief  stay  in  Toronto  and  returned  to  Mon- 
treal overnight.  The  "Montreal  Gazette"  published  an 
alarming  report  of  his  illness,  and  a  crowd  of  reporters 
met  his  train.  This  so  annoyed  him  that  he  walked  the 
length  of  St.  James  Street  in  order  to  show  how  well 
he  was.  His  rheumatic  leg  rebelled  against  such  treat- 
ment, and  he  reached  his  home  quite  exhausted  and  had 
to  take  to  his  bed.  It  was  the  first  definite  illness  he 
had  known. 

"I  never  dreamed  that  I  should  be  caught  by  rheuma- 


Bread  Cast  Upon  the  Waters  359 

tism  or  anything  of  that  sort,  and  I  am  both  unhappy 
and  ashamed." 

In  the  notes  he  dictated  to  his  friends  he  dwelt  more 
upon  his  "surprise  and  humiliation"  than  on  the  pains  of 
arthritis.  This  in  itself  was  a  commentary  upon  the 
great  physical  energies  on  which  he  had  drawn  so  gen- 
erously, so  heedlessly,  out  of  a  reservoir  that  now 
proved  to  be  fed  by  no  eternal  fountain  of  youth. 
Lying  on  his  back  and  swearing  at  "this  infernal  rheu- 
matism," Van  Home  was  convinced  that  the  many  mes- 
sages of  sympathy  and  good  wishes  did  him  more  good 
than  the  doctors. 

"Somehow,  during  all  these  miserable  weeks  the  recol- 
lections of  old  friendships  have  come  to  me  vividly,  and 
I  have  thought  frequently  of  you,  regretting  that  in  late 
years  I  have  seen  so  little  of  you." 

But  to  have  tried  all  the  remedies  that  accompanied 
the  messages  would  have  quickly  put  an  end  to  all  his 
pain  and  to  everything  else.  A  Japanese  friend  came 
to  Montreal  in  person  to  apply  poultices  made  from  the 
nuts  of  Cape  Jessamine,  and  these  gave  him  some  relief. 
Friends  in  Cuba  sent  him  a  quantity  of  green-cocoanut- 
water,  in  the  efficacy  of  which  he  had  some  faith  and  to 
which,  as  a  beverage,  he  had  become  addicted  since  his 
early  visits  to  the  island.  Isaac  Gate,  an  old  friend  of 
his  Missouri  days,  came  up  from  Baltimore,  bringing  his 
own  osteopathic  physician  with  him.  This  kindly  act 
was  a  return  of  bread  cast  upon  the  waters,  for  he  had 
once  succoured  Gate  when  the  latter  had  been  injured 
in  an  accident  while  traveling  on  the  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City  and  Northern. 

When  the  rheumatic  fever  finally  abated,  a  carbuncle 
developed  on  his  knee  and  held  him  prisoner  to  his  room. 
He  was  not  a  submissive  patient.  For  thirty  years  or 


360     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

more  he  had  been  an  inordinate  smoker,  and  when  the 
physician  forbade  him  more  than  three  cigars  a  day, 
the  restriction  was  more  than  he  could  stand. 

"See  how  I  circumvent  the  doctor,"  he  said,  showing 
a  cigar  about  a  foot  in  length  and  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter.  "I  have  had  these  specially  made  for  me  and 
smoke  three  of  them  a  day;  and  each  of  them  gives  me 
a  good  smoke  for  two  hours." 

To  while  away  the  weary  hours  of  confinement  he 
turned  to  light  literature  as  to  an  opiate,  and  sought 
recommendations  of  bed-time  books. 

"There  ought  to  be  a  jury  to  do  such  things,"  he  re- 
marked, "and  save  the  time  of  busy  people." 

Reading  had  never  been  one  of  his  pastimes,  and  he 
had  had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  be  a  bookish 
man.  All  his  life  he  had  been  accustomed  to  resort  to 
books  for  information  on  subjects  that  interested  him, 
in  much  the  same  way  as  he  wrung  knowledge  from 
other  people.  He  cared  little  for  poetry  or  philosophy, 
and  was  more  at  home  with  a  governmental  blue-book 
or  a  scientific  treatise  than  with  fiction.  But  he  had 
contrived  to  dip  into  many  of  the  modern  novels  that 
were,  from  time  to  time,  among  the  current  topics  of 
conversation  of  the  friends  who  came  to  his  table ;  and 
if  his  desultory  reading  of  the  novelists  had  been  far 
from  copious,  his  tenacious  memory  of  everything  he 
had  read  helped  him  well  to  hold  his  own  in  discussing 
a  fairly  wide  range  of  authors.  His  criticisms  of  their 
work  were  as  positive  as  his  other  opinions,  but,  when 
analysed,  they  consisted  of  little  more  than  the  expres- 
sion of  his  individual  preference  or  dislike.  The  corner 
in  his  library  devoted  to  tales  of  buccaneers  and  fili- 
busters bore  witness  to  his  fondness  for  action  and 
stirring  incident.  Romantic  fiction  was  not  always  easy 


Convalescence  361 

to  find,  and  he  had  small  patience  with  the  growing 
tendencies  of  modern  novelists  to  introspection  and  anal- 
ysis, and  none  whatever  with  those  which  pander  to  a 
public  craving  for  salaciousness.  Psychology  and  ethics 
he  could  obtain  from  more  authoritative  sources  than  a 
novel.  At  last  he  was  driven  to  exclaim : 

"Give  me  anything  but  analytical  novels  or  character 
sketches.  I  want  something  doing.  I  don't  care  a  rap 
for  the  moral  processes  that  make  character.  ...  I 
don't  care  why  people  do  things  in  novels  or  in  real  life. 
Working  out  motives  and  lines  of  thought  is  about  as 
useful  as  a  signboard  on  Niagara  Falls.  Nothing  is 
left  to  your  imagination/' 

By  the  end  of  January,  1914,  he  was  learning  to  walk 
on  crutches  and  arranging  to  meet  friends  in  London, 
Paris,  and  The  Hague  in  the  spring.  He  had  many 
weeks  of  convalescence  ahead  of  him,  however,  and  he 
spent  it  chiefly  in  reading  and  driving  and  hobbling 
about  among  his  beloved  pictures.  But  he  was  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  furnish  a  London  paper  with  a  state- 
ment on  Canada's  financial  outlook,  to  offset  the  many 
damaging  rumours  and  articles  then  appearing  in  the 
English  press,  and  to  defend  Canada  from  Sir  George 
Paish's  indictment  of  her  for  over-borrowing.  Con- 
ceding the  bad  effects  of  "a  long-continued  balance  of 
trade  against  any  country  without  a  corresponding  in- 
crease in  population  and  development,"  he  asserted  that 
the  prevailing  depression  was  not  due  to  excessive  spec- 
ulation, but  that  the  extraordinary  importations  of  Can- 
ada in  the  preceding  ten  years  were  due  to  her  extraor- 
dinary needs  arising  from  the  development  of  her  agri- 
culture and  her  increase  in  population.  With  all  his 
old  faith  in  the  country,  he  predicted  that  "when  the 
new  agricultural  population  gets  fairly  established  and 


362     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

production  comes  up  more  nearly  to  the  capacity  of  the 
land,  the  balance  of  trade  will  quickly  adjust  itself  and 
without  any  financial  jolts." 

In  the  middle  of  April,  when  he  could  throw  away 
his  crutches  and  lean  on  a  walking-stick,  he  felt  himself 
ready  to  resume  his  normal  life  once  more.  Deferring 
his  contemplated  journey  to  Europe  and  ignoring  his 
doctor's  advice  to  betake  himself  to  some  curative 
springs,  he  took  the  ordering  of  his  life  into  his  own 
hands  again  and  went  directly  to  Cuba.  There,  in  the 
warm  sunshine,  with  the  beautification  of  San  Zenon 
to  occupy  his  mind,  he  quickly  recuperated,  though  his 
lameness  still  lingered.  Returning  to  Canada,  he  de- 
clared that  he  never  felt  better  or  more  cheerful.  After 
a  few  days  in  Montreal,  he  proceeded  to  Europe  with 
his  son  on  the  last  of  his  Jasonlike  voyages  in  search  of 
gold,  fortunately  missing  through  a  slight  delay  the  pas- 
sage he  had  booked  on  the  ill-fated  "Empress  of  Ire- 
land." 

In  addition  to  financial  business,  he  was  bent  on  secur- 
ing one  of  the  recently  discovered  Lohans,  the  famous 
porcelain  statutes  that  had  once  adorned  an  ancient 
Chinese  temple.  The  Lohan  was  to  be  one  of  the 
choicest  ornaments  of  San  Zenon,  and  he  had  already 
sketched  in  his  mind  an  exquisitely  simple  shrine  he 
would  build  to  contain  it.  He  had  a  glimpse  of  the 
superb  specimen  that  Sir  Hercules  Reid  had  obtained 
for  the  British  Museum,  and  pursuing  his  search  with 
boyish  eagerness,  found  two  others  on  the  Continent. 
These,  however,  he  rejected,  and  temporarily  abandoned 
the  pursuit  because  he  could  not  be  satisfied  with  any- 
thing less  perfect  than  the  specimen  that  stood  in  the 
basement  of  the  British  Museum  awaiting  an  adequate 
setting.  He  was  lucky,  however,  in  obtaining  for  his  al- 


His  Last  Visit  to  Europe  363 

ready  unrivalled  collection  of  ship-models  a  very  fine 
old  Dutch  caravel  which  was  coveted  by  the  Kaiser,  and 
which  some  German  connoisseurs  were  on  the  point  of 
buying  with  the  object  of  presenting  it  to  their  imperial 
master. 

Then,  with  his  son  and  M.  Klechzkowski,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  French  diplomatic  service  who  had  held  the 
French  consulship  in  Montreal,  he  went  through  the 
chateaux  district  along  the  Loire — a  treat  he  had  long 
promised  himself  and  the  only  motoring  he  had  had  the 
leisure  and  the  inclination  to  enjoy.  He  bought  a  few 
pictures  in  Paris  and  purchased  an  exquisite  screen  by 
Matthew  Maris. 

Like  its  predecessors,  the  last  of  his  hurried  visits  to 
European  cities  was  crowded  with  invitations  and  finan- 
cial consultations.  It  was  fittingly  concluded  by  a  visit 
to  his  old  friend  and  colleague,  Lord  Mountstephen,  now 
resting  quietly  in  his  beautiful  Hertfordshire  home. 

He  had  barely  returned  to  Montreal  when  the  Great 
War  crashed  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  world.  He 
was  inclined  to  think  that  the  war-clouds  would  soon 
blow  over,  and  he  said  that  in  the  meantime  he  would 
run  down  to  St.  Andrews  to  see  his  family  and  "look 
after  the  fortifications  of  my  island." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

'1914-15.       THE     GREAT     WAR.       CHAIRMANSHIP     OF 
NATIONAL  COMMISSION.      SECOND  ILLNESS.      DEATH. 

JOHN  E.  LOGAN'S  VERSES. 

THROUGH  the  fateful  events  of  August,  1914, 
Van  Home  held  to  his  belief  in  the  basic  sanity 
of  men  and  hoped  for  the  termination  of  the 
conflict  within  the  year.  War  did  not  oppress  him.  He 
remembered  well  the  Civil  War,  and  the  material  splen- 
dour of  the  industrial  era  that  followed  it  had  led  him 
to  the  conclusion  that  war  was,  in  the  long  run,  benefi- 
cent. Asked  for  his  views  on  a  league  to  enforce  peace 
he  said,  "He  who  persistently  follows  the  road  to  peace, 
unarmed,  will  return  naked,"  and  he  professed  to  see  a 
close  relation,  as  of  cause  and  effect,  in  the  fact  that  the 
world's  first  great  peace  movement  had  been  followed  by 
the  world's  most  terrible  war. 

In  1910  he  had  written  S.  S.  McClure,  the  well-known 
publisher  of  New  York : 

I  do  not  believe  that  universal  peace  is  either  possible  or  desir- 
able. If  it  were  possible  and  could  be  brought  about,  I  feel  sure 
that  it  would  result  in  universal  rottenness.  All  the  manliness  of 
the  civilized  world  is  due  to  wars  or  to  the  need  of  being  prepared 
for  wars.  All  the  highest  qualities  of  mankind  have  been  devel- 
oped by  wars  or  the  dangers  of  wars.  Our  whole  civilization 
is  the  outgrowth  of  wars.  Without  wars,  religion  would  disap- 
pear. All  the  enterprise  of  the  world  has  grown  out  of  the  aggres- 
sive, adventurous,  and  warlike  spirit  engendered  by  centuries  of 
wars.  .  .  .  Divest  the  enterprise  of  the  past  three  or  four  cen- 
turies of  its  military  features,  and  you  would  have  common  rob- 

364   " 


The  Great  War  365 

bery  and  murder,  which  would  long  ago  have  brought  chaos. 
.  ,  .  Pain  and  distress  accompany  wars,  and  so  they  do  childbirth. 
It  is  all  the  same  a  hundred  years  after,  and  the  human  race  con- 
tinues and  is  the  better  for  it.  I  hold  that  every  nation  should 
be  prepared  for  war.  It  should  not  be  within  the  power  of  any 
individual  to  bring  about  war  for  his  personal  ends.  .  .  .  Napo- 
leon Buonaparte  was  a  curse  to  the  world,  but  armies  are  not. 

Van  Home  took  much  interest  and  pride  in  the  speed 
and  efficiency  with  which  the  first  Canadian  units  were 
assembled  at  Valcartier  Camp  and  transported  overseas 
to  the  mother  country.  From  "his  seat  on  a  stump  in 
the  backwoods"  he  speculated  as  a  railwayman  on  the 
measures  which  could  be  taken  to  combat  the  marvellous 
efficiency  displayed  by  the  German  General  Staff  in  the 
operation  of  the  German  railway  system  and  the  rapid 
transportation  of  their  legions  to  all  fronts.  But  his 
faith  in  war  as  a  grand  cathartic,  cleansing  the  social 
system  of  the  toxic  accumulations  of  an  era  of  peace,  was 
soon  shattered.  His  serenity  and  optimism  yielded  be- 
fore that  monstrous  thing  which  was  relentlessly  engulf- 
ing the  civilization  of  the  world  in  a  deluge  of  destruc- 
tion. And  as  was  the  case  with  many  others,  he  could 
not  cling  to  his  conception  of  war  as  a  beneficent  agency 
in  the  face  of  its  actual  horrors. 

By  way  of  retreat  from  the  shadow  of  the  Great  War 
and  the  severities  of  the  cold  North,  he  went  to  Cuba, 
where  "one  floats  serenely  and  life  is  no  more  wearing 
than  sunshine."  Remote  from  the  conflict,  life  in  Cuba 
had  all  its  pre-war  charm.  Trade  was  greatly  stimu- 
lated and,  freed  from  the  competition  of  European  sup- 
plies, the  sugar  plantations  were  bound  to  enrich  their 
owners.  ^The  Cuba  Company  was  sharing  in  the  pros- 
perity, and  although  the  war  on  the  seas  had  given  rise 
to  difficulties  of  transportation  and  storage,  Van  Home 


366     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

joyfully  predicted  that  one  share  of  the  company's  stock 
would  soon  be  worth  $250,000. 

In  December,  in  February  of  the  new  year,  and  again 
in  May,  he  journeyed  to  Cuba,  entreating  many  of  his 
friends  to  go  with  him  and  enjoy  that  "garden  of  peace" 
and  see  the  sugar  harvested — "a  sight  well  worth  going 
to  see,  one  of  the  great  sights  of  the  world." 

Back  in  Montreal,  in  the  intervals  between  these  jour- 
neys, Van  Home  found  it  no  light  trial  to  sit  in  his 
library  and  listen  to  the  incessant  sounds  of  drums  and 
marching  feet,  while  his  age  and  his  recent  illness  pre- 
vented him  from  active  participation  in  the  work  of  the 
world  at  a  time  of  such  tremendous  stress  and  effort. 
He  forwarded  to  the  British  Admiralty  a  suggestion  for 
the  detection  of  the  approach  of  submarines  by  a  method 
that  was  based  on  his  experience  of  the  devices  used 
by  the  Submarine  Signal  Company  with  which  he  had 
been  connected.  The  suggestion  was  considered  by  the 
Admiralty  and  referred  to  in  the  "Lusitania"  enquiry, 
but  was  not  thought  feasible  of  adoption.  A  field  of 
service  in  Canada,  however,  was  opened  up  to  him  by  Sir 
Robert  Borden,  who  asked  him  to  accept  the  chairman- 
ship of  a  commission  to  study  and  report  upon  the  devel- 
opment of  the  resources  of  Canada.  This  office,  for 
which  he  had  unequalled  qualifications,  he  promptly  ac- 
cepted, glad  to  be  of  use  to  the  people  of  his  adopted 
country. 

Early  in  June,  1915,  he  returned  from  his  last  visit 
to  Cuba.  He  was  in  high  spirits  and  felt  particularly 
well.  He  stopped  in  New  York  to  pick  up  such  furni- 
ture as  he  could  not  find  in  Cuba  for  San  Zenon,  and 
ordered  hundreds  of  rose-bushes  and  thuyas  for  its 
gardens.  He  decided  to  move  some  of  his  art  treasures 
— particularly  his  Japanese  and  Chinese  wall-hangings 


Last  Days  367 

— from  Montreal  to  his  new  Cuban  home.  All  his  busi- 
ness interests  were  flourishing  as  a  result  of  the  demands 
created  by  the  war.  He  had  clung  for  a  score  of  years 
to  some  shares  in  a  Vermont  powder  company  which 
had  been  continually  on  the  verge  of  liquidation.  The 
necessities  of  the  Allies  now  made  these  shares  very  val- 
uable, and  he  was  able  to  sell  them  at  an  unexpectedly 
high  figure. 

But  soon  after  his  return  to  Montreal  he  became  sub- 
ject to  a  fever  that  baffled  his  physicians  and  himself. 
Between  periods  of  enforced  rest  he  continued  to  direct, 
in  some  degree,  his  widely-scattered  business  affairs,  and 
made  several  visits  to  Covenhoven.  While  there  he  pre- 
pared, with  the  vice-president  of  the  Cuba  Company,  the 
annual  report  of  their  corporation. 

He  could  still  give  thought  to  every  detail  of  his 
affairs,  but  his  apparent  weakness  and  effort  in  his  work 
caused  much  anxiety  to  his  family  and  his  guests.  They 
were  more  disturbed  than  he,  for  when,  in  the  early 
part  of  August,  he  felt  better,  he  arranged  definitely  to 
begin  in  the  autumn  a  history  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway,  which  he  had  long  and  often  been  pressed  to 
prepare.  He  also  intended  in  the  immediate  future  to 
make  another  visit  to  Cuba.  But  these  things  were 
not  to  be.  The  improvement  in  his  health  was  only 
temporary,  and  more  apparent  to  himself  than  to  others. 
When  the  cause  of  the  fever  was  finally  diagnosed  as 
an  internal  abscess,  an  operation  was  agreed  upon  by 
his  medical  advisers.  It  was  performed  in  Montreal  on 
August  22  at  the  Royal  Victoria  Hospital. 

Van  Home  rallied  bravely  from  the  shock  and  re- 
ceived several  visitors,  to  some  of  whom  he  characteris- 
tically outlined  an  improved  type  of  hospital  which  he 
would  build  when  he  was  well  again.  The  hopes  now 


368     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

entertained  by  his  family  and  friends,  however,  had  no 
other  basis  than  his  own  strong  spirit  waging  its  final 
earthly  struggle.  He  was  loath  to  go.  He  had  loved 
all  there  was  of  earthly  life  so  warmly,  had  met  every 
hour  with  such  vivid  interest,  and  was  still  so  boyishly 
young  at  heart. 

"When  I  think  of  all  I  could  do,  I  should  like  to  live 
for  five  hundred  years." 

On  September  n,  1915,  his  unjaded  spirit  reached 
its  final  terminal,  and  the  wires  bore  the  sad  words, 
"Van  Home  is  dead,"  to  every  corner  of  the  Dominion. 

From  three  continents  messages  of  grief  and  sym- 
pathy poured  in  upon  the  bereaved  family.  Along  the 
immense  system  Van  Home  had  moulded  over  land  and 
over  seas,  from  Hong  Kong  east  to  London,  flags 
drooped  in  mourning.  Throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Cuba  the  churches  paid  him  a  tribute  never 
before  paid  to  any  but  a  prince  of  the  church  or  the 
royal  house  of  Spain,  tolling  their  bells  for  the  passing 
of  the  man  who  "in  little  more  than  one  year  had  done 
a  greater  work  for  Cuba  than  the  Spanish  government 
had  accomplished  in  four. hundred  and  fifty  years." 

From  the  hospital  his  body  was  taken  to  the  family 
residence,  where  it  lay  beneath  the  pictures  he  had  so 
greatly  loved.  On  September  14  a  funeral  service  was 
conducted  there  by  the  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church, 
in  the  presence  of  relatives  and  friends  and  representa- 
tives of  His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Connaught, 
the  Federal  and  Provincial  governments,  the  consuls- 
general  of  foreign  countries  resident  in  Canada,  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  and  other  public  and  private  corpora- 
tions. 

The  funeral  cortege  from  the  house  to  the  Windsor 
Street  station  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  now  heavily 


The  Final  Terminal  369 

draped  in  white  and  black,  was  one  of  the  most  impos- 
ing that  had  ever  wound  a  way  through  the  streets  of  a 
Canadian  city.  From  Montreal  the  body  was  conveyed 
by  a  special  train  to  Joliet  for  burial. 

As  the  funeral  train,  to  which  his  old  car,  the  "Sas- 
katchewan," was  attached,  sped  across  the  country,  it 
was  greeted  at  station  after  station  by  groups  of  men 
who  revered  his  memory  and  his  name.  At  an  ap- 
pointed hour  all  traffic  on  the  system  was  suspended  for 
five  minutes  in  silent  homage. 

Shortly  after  his  burial  the  following  memorial  verses 
by  Barry  Dane  (John  E.  Logan)  appeared  in  the  "Uni- 
versity Magazine": 

Where  shall  those  feet  tread  on  the  unknown  way 
That  here  explored,  untiring,  our  dull  sod? 
What  shall  that  mind  discover  and  survey 
Upon  the  illimitable  fields  of  God? 

Must  we  not  feel  that  swift  from  star  to  star, 
From  station  unto  station,  that  great  soul — 
An  emigrant — shall  reach  from  worlds  afar, 
Through  wide-flung  portals,  Being's  perfect  goal? 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.    PORTRAITS.    FRIENDS. 
G.  T.  BLACKSTOCK'S  APPRECIATION. 

AS  has  so  often  been  stated  in  the  preceding 
pages,  Van  Home  was  blessed  with  a  rare  phys- 
ical endowment.  He  was  tall  and  massively 
built,  and  carried  himself  with  the  native  dignity  of  a 
courteous,  high-bred  gentleman.  His  head  was  of  noble 
proportions;  his  eye  clear  and  penetrating;  his  features 
refined,  mobile,  and  expressive  of  his  moods.  In  con- 
versation his  face  was  constantly  lighted  up  with  a 
merry  twinkling  smile.  His  laugh  was  hearty  and 
jovial.  At  work  with  his  secretary,  dictating  letters  to 
the  four  corners  of  the  globe,  he  seemed  the  embodiment 
of  energy,  blowing  smoke  like  a  factory  as  he  sought  in 
his  mind  for  a  word — the  most  precise — and  winding  up 
a  letter  with  a  sentence  or  a  phrase  like  a  shot  from  a 
cannon.  In  a  business  interview  he  faced  his  caller, 
straddling  his  chair,  leaning  his  arms  upon  the  back,  and 
alternately  puffing  smoke  and  flicking  the  ash  from  his 
cigar  upon  the  carpet. 

His  attitude  in  repose  was  frequently  one  of  the  most 
rapt  absorption.  This  he  would  maintain  for  several 
minutes  as  he  stood,  for  instance,  before  one  of  his  pic- 
tures. It  conveyed  the  impression  that  he  saw  through 
and  beyond  the  obvious  features  of  the  painting,  and 
was  apt  to  be  disconcerting  to  a  less  enthusiastic  com- 
panion. Equally  disconcerting  were  the  occasions  on 
which  he  would  apparently  ignore  a  question  and  delay 

370 


Personal  Characteristics  371 

replying  so  long  that  when  the  answer  came,  the  ques- 
tioner had  forgotten  the  subject  of  his  enquiry  and  won- 
dered what  Van  Home  was  talking  about.  At  Coven- 
hoven  when,  with  his  two  pet  collies  bounding  after 
him,  he  took  a  guest  for  a  walk,  he  would  stop  here  and 
there  and  apparently  lose  himself  for  a  long  interval  in 
silent  contemplation  of  a  charming  landscape,  as  naively 
certain  of  his  companion's  participation  in  his  enjoy- 
ment as  when  he  roused  him  from  sleep  at  night  on  the 
"Saskatchewan"  to  look  at  a  beautiful  lake  or  hill  bathed 
in  moonlight. 

His  portrait  was  painted  at  various  times  by  Wyatt 
Eaton,  by  Wickenden,  and  by  Henryk  Lund.  Lessore 
sculptured  his  head  and  shoulders,  and  R.  G.  Matthews 
made  a  clever  pencil  drawing  of  him.  But  although 
his  daughter  regards  highly  the  work  by  Wyatt  Eaton, 
none  of  these  counterfeit  presentments  has  so  truly 
caught  his  characteristic  expression  as  the  photograph 
by  Notman  which  is  the  frontispiece  of  this  volume. 

His  strength  was  as  the  strength  of  ten  men  and  his 
powers  of  endurance  phenomenal.  He  was  almost  in- 
sensible to  cold,  and  required  little  sleep  to  restore  his 
vigour.  Habitually  turning  night  into  day,  and  eating 
and  smoking  in  defiance  of  all  accepted  precepts  of  mod- 
eration, he  boasted  late  in  life  that  he  did  not  know  what 
a  headache  was. 

"Tired?"  he  once  replied  in  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning,  after  a  day  of  toil  and  several  hundred  points 
of  billiards,  "Tired?  I  have  only  been  tired  twice  in  my 
life!" 

On  another  occasion,  when  he  made  a  hurried  jour- 
ney to  Ottawa,  he  started  a  game  of  chess  before  his 
train  left  Montreal  shortly  after  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  At  three  in  the  morning,  when  his  car  was 


372     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

lying  on  a  siding  in  the  Ottawa  yards,  he  interrupted 
play  by  summoning  his  porter  and  demanding  food. 
The  car  had  not  been  stocked  with  supplies  for  so  short 
a  run,  and  all  the  porter  could  produce  was  a  few  hard 
biscuits  and  an  unopened  tin  containing  not  less  than 
half-a-pound — it  may  have  been  a  pound — of  caviar. 
His  opponent  having  warily  refused  a  share,  Van  Home 
consumed  the  whole  of  this  and,  the  mineral  water  hav- 
ing given  out,  washed  it  down  with  neat  whiskey.  Fin- 
ishing the  game  at  five  o'clock,  he  retired  for  a  nap  be- 
fore starting  a  busy  day  with  ministers  and  officials. 

Excesses  such  as  these  were  so  common  as  wellnigh 
to  be  habitual  through  a  long  period  of  his  life,  and  the 
fact  that  he  never  appeared  to  suffer  any  ill-effects  from 
them  implied  a  magnificent  constitution.  When,  how- 
ever, diabetic  symptoms  appeared,  he  had  the  strength 
of  will  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  regimen  prescribed  by  his 
physician.  To  men  of  less  robust  physique,  thrown  into 
close  companionship  with  him,  his  vitality,  in  his  prime, 
was  overpowering.  He  taxed  their  physical  resources 
so  heavily  and  incessantly  that  they  were  fain  to  fall 
away  and  lie  down  by  the  wayside.  His  zest,  which 
was  never  blunted,  for  life  and  the  work  and  play  of 
life,  was  something  at  which  ordinary  jaded  humans 
could  only  wonder.  It  was  well  said  of  him  that  "he 
approached  each  day  with  a  child's  fresh  delight,  and 
so  he  got  a  good  deal  of  Heaven  out  of  life." 

His  conversation  was  copious,  unstudied,  and  stimu- 
lating. "Decisive  in  judgment  and  confident  in  opin- 
ion, his  sentences  were  so  picturesque  and  penetrating 
that  even  his  rasher  statements  were  seldom  challenged." 
Enlivened  by  flashes  of  humour  and  by  startling  images 
and  colloquialisms,  his  talk  was  marred  at  times  by  a 
boastfulness — a  boyish  extravagance  and  self -adulation 


THE   DINING-ROOM    IN    THE    MONTREAL   HOUSE 


CORNER    OF   SIR    WILLIAM    VAN   HORNE*S   STUDIO 


Personal  Characteristics  373 

— that  might  have  been  annoying  if  it  had  not  been  so 
well  understood  by  his  intimates.  Full  of  enthusiasms, 
he  thought  and  spoke  in  superlatives,  and  did  not  spare 
the  use  of  an  expletive  to  enforce  his  meaning.  His 
early  experiences  had  brought  him  familiarity  with  the 
language  of  the  day  in  the  railway-yard  and  the  con- 
struction-camp, but  he  was  not  a  profane  man,  and  rarely 
injected  profanity  into  his  social  intercourse  and  never 
into  his  home  circle.  His  more  restrained  talk  with 
strangers  and  occasional  visitors  retained  an  individual- 
ity in  which  they  found  a  fresh  and  tonic  quality. 

"We  are  going  down  the  river  in  grey  mist  and  rain," 
wrote  Rudyard  Kipling  from  a  steamer  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence, "the  two  most  grateful  people  ever  received  by 
you — and  that  must  be  saying  a  good  deal.  Those  last 
three  days  spent  under  your  roof  were  a  pure  joy,  as 
well  as  a  rest  and  refreshment  that  we  never  dreamed 
of." 

And  Jeremiah  Curtin,  best  known  as  the  translator 
of  Sienkiewicz,  returning  from  a  year  of  travel  and  re- 
search in  Russia:  "I  have  worked  hard  for  the  past 
year  and  have  now  a  manuscript  of  nine  hundred 
closely  written  pages  for  my  coming  book,  'The  Mon- 
gols/ I  need  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you  just  for  men- 
tal refreshment." 

He  knew  nothing  of  classical  literature  and,  except 
through  translations,  nothing  of  the  literature  of  any 
modern  tongue  but  his  own,  for,  notwithstanding  his 
love  of  Cuba  and,  in  the  aggregate,  his  years  of  resi- 
dence on  that  island,  he  never  got  beyond  the  rudiments 
of  Spanish,  if  so  far.  Yet  his  knowledge  of  men,  the 
variety  and  extent  of  his  information,  and  the  catholicity 
of  his  taste,  combined  with  a  rare  artistic  instinct  to 
him  one  of  the  most  cultivated  men  of  his  time. 


374     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

He  had  been  everywhere,  seen  everything,  and  met 
everybody. 

More  impressive  than  the  range  of  his  information 
was  his  familiarity  with  some  of  the  by-paths  of  knowl- 
edge. When  Vaughan  Cornish,  pursuing  his  investiga- 
tion of  wave-forms,  came  to  Canada,  he  was  able  to 
direct  him  to  those  places  in  our  northern  latitudes 
where  snow-waves  «could  be  seen  at  their  best,  and  to  ex- 
plain the  climatic  forces  and  topographical  conditions 
which  operated  to  produce  their  various  forms. 

"That,"  said  Vaughan  Cornish  on  leaving  his  house, 
"is  a  very  remarkable  man.  He  made  me  feel  as  if  he 
knew  more  about  my  own  subject  than  I  know  myself." 

Van  Home  was  singularly  free  from  every  form  of 
the  vice  of  sentimentality.  He  would  not  have  faltered 
for  a  moment  in  giving  the  greatest  treasure  in  his  collec- 
tions for  one  of  greater  intrinsic  merit,  though  undoubt- 
edly he  would  have  tried  to  retain  the  one  and  acquire 
the  other. 

"Why,"  he  demanded  of  a  young  collector  who  had 
brought  the  first  edition  of  an  eighteenth  century  classic 
to  show  him,  "why  did  you  buy  such  a  rotten  edition?" 

The  proud  young  owner  explained  that  he  was  weak 
enough  to  take  pleasure  in  reading  editions  contempo- 
rary with  the  author.  Van  Home  was  almost  unkind, 
and  said  the  volume  was  heavy,  dirty,  and  badly  edited. 

"Give  me  a  book  for  use!  If  the  margins  are  too 
wide,  cut  them  down ;  if  the  covers  are  too  clumsy,  tear 
them  off.  If  you  buy  a  book  as  a  work  of  art,  put  it 
in  your  cabinet  and  order  a  modern  edition  for  read- 
ing." 

His  freedom  from  sentimentality  served  to  emphasize 
the  independence  and  sincerity  of  his  opinions,  but  for 
all  that  he  was  an  adept  in  the  art  of  bluffing  and  a  mas- 


Personal  Characteristics  375 

ter  of  humbug.  However,  he  could  take  as  well  as  give, 
and  as  his  amiability  was  generally  imperturbable,  he 
betrayed  no  sign  of  mortification  if  he  were  discom- 
fited. To  the  last  he  loved  surprises.  After  a  long 
wait  in  a  New  York  telegraph-office  he  heard  the  ex- 
pected communication  come  on  the  key. 

"Here  's  your  message,  Sir  William,"  said  the  clerk  at 
the  wicket. 

"Yes,  and  here  is  the  answer,"  replied  Van  Home, 
receiving  the  London  message  with  one  hand  and  tender- 
ing his  own  script  with  the  other. 

His  studio  in  his  Montreal  house,  where  in  later 
years  he  often  transacted  business  as  well  as  painted, 
was  always  open  to  his  friends.  It  was  not  necessary 
to  be  an  artist  or  a  person  of  importance  to  be  sure  of  a 
hearty  welcome  to  his  genial  and  kindly  companionship ; 
it  was  enough  to  be  interesting,  or  even  to  be  interested. 
Whether  the  chief  objective  was  a  game  of  billiards,  a 
business  talk,  a  discussion  of  Byzantine  art,  or  what  not, 
"a  quiet  evening  with  Van  Home"  was  something  to 
cherish  in  the  memory,  if  only  for  the  stories  he  told. 
These  were  not  of  the  kind  customarily  passed  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  but  were  narratives  of  incidents  in 
which  he  himself  had  borne  a  part  or  of  which  he  had 
been  an  observer;  and  the  store  was  inexhaustible.  Of 
some  it  might  be  said,  "se  non  e  vero  £  ben  trovato"  but 
repetition  had  transmuted  them  from  fancy  into  fact. 
He  told  them  with  a  wealth  of  detail,  mimicry  and  ges- 
ture, and  a  quiet  drollery  that  was  all  his  own.  They 
were  complete  and  perfect  of  their  kind,  and  he  was 
often  besought  to  put  them  on  paper. 

In  England,  where  he  was  the  recipient  of  many  hos- 
pitable attentions,  he  never  "hit  it  off,"  and  those  who 
had  been  made  curious  to  meet  him  by  the  tales  carried 


376     The  Life  and  Work  of  'Sir  William  Van  Home 

over  from  Canada  were  almost  invariably  disappointed. 
The  explanation  is  simple.  He  was  out  of  his  accus- 
tomed milieu,  felt  himself  to  be  on  show,  and  therefore 
could  not  be  natural  or  articulate.  The  paralysis  that 
afflicted  him  at  a  public  meeting  in  Canada  clogged  his 
faculties  at  a  private  dinner  in  London.  He  could  not 
face  the  limelight  in  England  or  anywhere.  He  consist- 
ently evaded  the  repeated  and  affectionate  efforts  of  F. 
D.  Underwood  to  secure  him  for  a  dinner  at  which  all 
the  greatest  magnates  of  the  American  railway  world 
would  gather  to  pay  him  homage  and  to  establish  beyond 
all  future  cavil  and  dispute  their  recognition  of  his  great 
and  unique  contributions  to  the  science  of  railroad  opera- 
tion in  America.  The  same  dread  underlay  his  rejec- 
tion of  offers  of  honorary  degrees  by  McGill  University 
— of  which  he  became  a  trustee  in  1897 — and  other  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  though  he  pretended  to  base  his 
refusal  on  the  grounds  that  he  had  no  university  train- 
ing and  that  honorary  degrees,  which  are,  in  fact,  cus- 
tomarily conferred  for  service  to  the  state,  should  be 
given  only  for  academic  achievements. 

Pure  in  his  private  life,  he  was  a  model  father,  son, 
and  husband,  his  love  and  devotion  rinding  their  ulti- 
mate expression  in  adoration  of  his  grandson.  An 
enumeration  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances  would  fill 
a  sizable  and  cosmopolitan  "Who's  Who."  There  were 
few  men  conspicuous  in  the  public  and  business  life  of 
the  United  States  whom  he  had  not  met  and  none  in 
Canada  whom  he  did  not  know.  And  his  acquaintances 
among  men  of  letters  and  artists,  men  of  science  and 
journalists,  were  legion.  He  was  a  courtly  host,  pro- 
fuse in  hospitality  and  never  wanting  in  delicate  thought 
for  the  pleasure  and  comfort  of  his  guests.  He  took  an 
epicure's  delight  in  his  table,  and  would  send  after  de- 


Personal  Characteristics  377 

parting  guests  gifts  of  oolachans,  salmon-bellies,  maple 
sugar,  or  other  viands  that  had  caught  their  fancy. 
Few  persons  of  distinction  visited  Montreal  when  he 
was  at  home  without  putting  their  feet  under  his  ma- 
hogany. 

In  the  later  period  of  his  life  there  came  to  his  fire- 
side not  only  many  old  Canadian  and  American  friends, 
but  many  new  friends  from  overseas.  Li  Hung  Chang, 
Prince  Ito,  Prince  Fushimi,  Baron  Komura,  Admiral 
Togo,  and  Sir  Ernest  Satow  from  the  Orient.  From 
Italy,  the  Marquis  Doria,  planning  an  Italian-Canadian 
steamship  line.  From  England,  Prince  Louis  of  Bat- 
tenberg,  Lord  Redesdale,  Sir  William  Crooks,  Lord 
Northcote,  Dr.  Ludwig  Mond,  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  Sir 
Henry  Norman,  General  Sir  Alexander  Montgomery- 
Moore,  General  Sir  Thomas  Kelly-Kenny,  and  Sir  Mar- 
tin Conway.  Baron  Sternburg  and  Sir  Cecil  Spring- 
Rice,  the  German  and  British  Ambassadors  to  Wash- 
ington. Artists,  art-critics,  and  connoisseurs  from 
everywhere :  Dr.  Bode  of  the  Imperial  Museum  at  Ber- 
lin and  August  L.  Mayer  of  Munich's  Pinakothek.  Dr. 
Bradius,  Dr.  Martin,  and  M.  Kronig  from  The  Hague. 
Dr.  Valentiner  and  Sir  Caspar  Purden  Clarke.  John 
Lafarge,  with  whom  he  corresponded  for  several  years. 
Nardus,  the  Flemish  artist  and  connoisseur.  George  H. 
Story  and  Albert  Ryder.  Howard  Bailey  of  the  "Con- 
noisseur." Louis  Hertz  and  Jan  Veth,  Jaccaci  and 
George  Simonson,  Stephen  Bourgeois  and  Van  Gelder, 
Linde  and  Bernhard  Berenson.  Of  the  makers  of 
books:  Rudyard  Kipling,  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  and 
Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  Robert  Benson  and  Robert  Barr, 
Weir  Mitchell  and  Lafcadio  Hearn,  W.  A.  Fraser,  Dr. 
Flint,  and  many  another ;  not  forgetting  Jeremiah  Cur- 
tin  who,  in  admiration  of  his  character  and  appreciation 


378     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

of  his  love  of  Eastern  literature,  dedicated  to  him  his 
"Journey  in  Southern  Siberia." 

His  friends,  in  the  higher  sense  of  the  word,  were 
naturally  those  who  had  shared  the  heat  and  burden  of 
his  day,  and  from  them,  from  one  cause  or  another— 
changing  interests  or  the  corroding  effect  of  time — he 
gradually  drifted  further  and  further  away.  He  culti- 
vated, indeed,  none  of  the  essentials  of  friendship,  except 
loyalty.  Moreover,  his  frequent  and  prolonged  absences 
from  Montreal  tended  to  weaken  old  bonds,  as  it  pre- 
vented the  cementing  of  new.  He  was  always  on  the 
wing.  Never  resting  or  sleeping  so  well  as  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  the  hum  of  the  wheels  and  the  swaying 
of  the  bogie-trucks  over  the  rails,  he  thought  that  he 
was  the  world's  greatest  traveller  in  point  of  distance. 
And  he  may  well  have  been,  for  some  years  before  his 
death  he  estimated  that  he  had  "completed  four  round- 
trips  to  the  moon  and  was  well  started  on  the  fifth." 

Violent  in  his  animosities  and  not  unsparing  of  vig- 
orous language,  Van  Home  bore  neither  malice  nor  re- 
sentment longer  than  "becomes  a  quarrel."  Thoroughly 
human  himself,  he  was  reticent  in  condemnation  of  the 
frailties  of  others.  Opprobrium  seldom  fell  from  his 
lips ;  silence  and  a  short  sarcastic  utterance  sufficed,  un- 
less treachery  or  dishonesty  had  been  uncovered.  Of 
divorce,  however,  for  any  cause  whatever  he  was  intol- 
erant. His  religion  was  Disraeli's,  the  religion  of  all 
sensible  men.  The  first-rate  quality  of  his  intellectual 
apparatus  forbade  the  acceptance  of  any  dogma. 

"All  my  religion,"  he  said  one  day,  "is  summed  up  in 
the  Golden  Rule,  and  I  practise  it." 

"Are  you  really  serious?"  asked  his  auditor,  think- 
ing that  in  its  implications  the  Golden  Rule  covered  the 
whole  duty  of  man. 


Personal  Characteristics  379 

"Yes/'  he  replied,  "I  am  serious.  I  practise  it,  and 
I  think  I  am  the  only  man  in  business  who  does.  What 
are  you  laughing  at?" 

"Well,"  came  the  answer,  "I  have  heard  of  Me  und 
Gott,  but  Van  Home  and  Jesus  Christ  is  rather  a  new — ' 

As  the  absurdity  of  his  statement  was  brought  home 
to  him,  Van  Home's  face  expanded  into  a  broad  grin. 
"Well,  I  do  the  best  I  can,"  he  said. 

He  would  have  been  a  very  paragon  if  even  that  were 
true,  and  he  was  nothing  of  the  kind.  But  although, 
like  other  successful  men,  he  had  his  enemies  and  de- 
tractors who  impeached  his  motives  or  imputed  busi- 
ness unfairness,  no  aspersion  was  ever  overtly  cast  upon 
his  probity  or  honour. 

In  money  matters,  however,  he  was  undeniably  selfish. 
Money  he  loved  for  its  own  sake,  but  above  all  for  the 
treasures  it  would  buy.  "Just  fancy,  with  $500,000  I 
could  have  bought  five  Rembrandts!"  He  was  never 
unmindful  of  the  financial  obligations  imposed  by  fam- 
ily ties.  His  standing  order  to  his  household  to  send 
poor  suppliants  a  barrel  of  flour,  and  innumerable  kind- 
nesses and  gifts  to  the  necessitous  showed  his  suscep- 
tibility to  compassion.  Under  the  compulsion  of  no- 
blesse oblige,  he  made  one  or  two  handsome  subscrip- 
tions to  public  institutions.  Preferring  to  make  his 
contributions  anonymously,  he  did  not  fail  to  respond 
to  many  of  the  myriad  calls  that  are  made  upon  the 
purse  of  a  citizen  of  wealth  and  standing.  And  he  left 
friends  behind  him  who  have  cause  to  remember  him 
with  gratitude  for  timely  financial  help.  But  he  was  the 
son  of  one  of  those  western  pioneers  of  whom  it  has 
been  remarked  that  their  early  struggles  to  obtain  the 
necessities  of  life  were  so  severe  and  often  so  terrible 
that  when  they  had  won  through  to  comfort  and  security, 


380     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

they  found  it  hard  to  part  with  money.  He  grudged 
giving.  In  this  he  was  not  singular  among  the  rich 
men  of  a  community  which  has  established  a  high  stand- 
ard of  public  and  private  generosity.  Something  quite 
different,  however,  was  expected  from  Van  Home,  and 
his  most  ardent  admirers  could  not  forgive  him  for 
stinginess  which,  in  some  cases,  fell  no  way  short  of 
meanness.  This  is  a  grave  detraction  from  his  char- 
acter, but  he  himself  would  have  said  with  the  Moor, 

"Speak  of  me  as  I  am.     Nothing  extenuate, 
Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice." 

Stinginess  and  meanness  seemed,  indeed,  incompatible 
with  his  lavish  hospitality  and  other  qualities  of  a  warm 
and  rich  nature,  and  his  finer  instincts  sometimes  re- 
belled. He  had  his  moments  in  which  he  would  confide 
his  intention  to  do  this  or  that  "when  my  ships  come 
home/'  But  when  a  ship  did  come  home,  the  profits  of 
the  voyage  were  already  pledged  to  some  new  venture 
or  were  required  to  reduce  an  overdraft  at  the  bank  or 
to  pay  for  a  painting  that  he  could  not  resist.  If  his 
generous  impulses  carried  him  too  far  in  raising  expec- 
tations, his  second  thought  was  quick  to  dispel  them. 
Traveling  one  night  in  his  private  car,  he  waxed  so 
enthusiastic  over  a  project  for  an  addition  to  the  build- 
ings of  a  public  institution  as  almost  to  commit  himself 
to  its  cost.  But  the  next  morning,  when  he  parted  from 
his  -companion,  he  exclaimed,  "I  say,  Doctor,  I  must  have 
been  very  drunk  last  night/'  Verbum  sap. 

Weighed  in  the  balance,  all  his  faults  were  as  noth- 
ing to  the  benefits  he  conferred  on  his  adopted  country, 
for  there  is  no  flourishing  city  or  town  in  Canada  that 
does  not  directly  or  indirectly  owe  some  measure  of  its 
prosperity  to  his  energy  and  genius.  And  at  his  zenith 


Personal  Characteristics  381 

there  were  times  when  the  man  seemed  greater  than  his 
work.     One  felt  then  that  he  was  frittering  his  dynamic 
powers  away  upon  the  affairs,  important  as  they  were, 
that  occupied  him;  that  he  was,  indeed,  as  T.  F.  Ryan 
said,  "turning  his  back  upon  an  empire  and  chasing  a 
rabbit."     But  where  was  the  empire?     For  statesman- 
ship or  diplomacy  he  was  unfitted.     If  his  restlessness 
and  the  diversity  of  his  interests  had  permitted  him  to 
concentrate  all  his  powers  on  such  an  object,  he  had 
neither  the  business  nor  the  financial  instincts  necessary 
to  the  accumulation  of  a  great  fortune.     He  had,  in 
supreme  degree,  the  qualities  that  go  to  make  a  military 
commander  of  the  first  order.     With  technical  train- 
ing, he  might  have  been  a  great  engineer  or  architect, 
or  a  modern  master  of  painting.     He  might  conceivably 
have  attained  to  eminence  in  any  of  the  natural  sciences. 
But  who  shall  say  that  in  any  of  these  roles  he  could 
have  done  anything  of  higher  value  than  his  actual 
achievements   as   a   railwayman   and   railway-builder? 
The  impression  that  his  unique  personality  made  upon 
one  of  those  who  worked  with  him  in  the  days  of  his 
splendid  forties  is  well  described  in  the  following  appre- 
ciation, written  in   1916  by  George  Tate  Blackstock, 
K.  C.,  of  Toronto,  who  was  intimately  associated  with 
him  as  friend  and  counsel  during  the  strenuous  years  of 
1885-92: 

Canadians,  even  to-day,  have  no  realization  of  the  work  he  did 
or  of  what  they  owe  him.  He  was  a  Napoleonic  master  of  men, 
and  the  fertility  of  his  genius  and  resource  were  boundless,  as 
were  the  skill  and  force  with  which  he  brought  his  conceptions  to 
realities.  Alongside  these  mighty  powers  lay  a  lot  of  intellectual 
playgrounds  in  which  he  took  his  recreation  and  amusement — 
such  as  painting,  the  collection  of  works  of  art,  porcelain,  etc., 
and  his  sleight-of-hand  and  trick  playing.  In  fact,  there  was 


382     The  Life  and  Work  of  Sir  William  Van  Home 

nothing  that  he  saw  which  did  not  interest  him  and  to  which  he 
did  not  apply  himself  to  some  extent. 

To  all  this  was  added  a  noble  simplicity  of  character,  inex- 
haustible good  humour,  great  kindliness  and  an  almost  boyish 
enthusiasm  and  love  of  tricks  and  pranks  of  a  thoroughly  innocent 
and  amusing  character.  There  was  nothing  mean  or  sordid  or 
selfish  in  him.  He  was  large-hearted  and  whole-souled  through- 
out, and  a  man  calculated  to  inspire  enthusiastic  affection  and 
devotion  from  all  who  came  within  the  ambit  of  his  charm  and 
fascinating  powers. 

The  great  central  zone  of  Sir  William  was  his  insatiable  appe- 
tite for  work,  the  vigour  and  enthusiasm  with  which  he  would 
throw  himself  into  it,  and  the  stupendous  virility  of  his  concep- 
tions and  exertions.  Only  those  who  sat  alongside  of  him  day 
after  day  and  saw  the  great  brain  that  worked  and  the  magnificent 
textures  that  passed  out  from  the  busy  looms  will  ever  know  what 
a  mighty  man  he  was. 

Age  could  not  wither  nor  custom  stale  his  infinite  variety.  The 
freshness  and  vivacity  of  his  mind,  its  spring  and  elasticity  and 
capacity  to  meet  every  emergency,  were  wonderful  to  behold. 
Faults,  indeed,  he  had,  as  who  has  not?  Some  of  his  sweeping 
statements  and  magnificent  generalizations  wore  traces  at  times 
of  exaggeration,  but  they  were  not  the  exaggerations  of  impotence, 
but  of  majesty  and  power  which  saw  beyond  the  ken  of  other 
men  and  sometimes  even  beyond  himself. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

"Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  Articles  on  Cuba,  Guatemala,  United 
States ;  Sir  Sandford  Fleming,  "Old  to  New  Westminster" ;  John 
Holladay  Latane,  "America  as  a  World  Power,  1897-1907,"  in 
"The  American  Nation,"  Vol.  25 ;  Sir  Joseph  Pope,  "Life  of  Sir 
John  Macdonald" ;  H.  G.  Pyle,  "Life  of  J.  J.  Hill" ;  Albert  G.  Rob- 
ertson, "Cuba  and  the  Intervention" ;  Oscar  D.  Skelton,  "The  Rail- 
way Builders";  Beckles  Wilson,  "Life  of  Lord  Strathcona";  Sir 
John  Willison,  "Reminiscences  Political  and  Personal";  "The 
University  Magazine,"  Feb.,  1916;  and  various  company  reports. 


383 


INDEX 


Abbott,   Sir  John  C   C,   119,   129, 

195,  209,  273. 
Advertising,  141,   150. 
Agassiz   Club,   23. 
Agassiz,  Prof.  J.  L.  R.,  29. 
Alger,    Gen.    Russell    A.,   263,   274, 

277. 

Ancestry,  3  seqq.,  178,  335- 
Angus,  R.  B.,  70,  130,  134,  163,  253, 

263. 
Art  collections,   180,  266,  335,  353, 

362. 
Art,  views  on,  268  seqq. 

Blackfeet  Indians,  92. 
Blackstock,  Geo.  T.,  160,  381. 
Blackstone,  Timothy,  35.  39.  47.  54- 
Blake,  Hon.  Edward,  71,  79,  101. 
Borden,  Sir  Robert  L.,  350. 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway:  incep- 
tion, 64  seqq.;  syndicate,  70  seqq.; 
contract  and  charter,  70  seqq.; 
Lake  Superior  section,  78  seqq.; 
91,  107  seqq.;  prairie  section,  83 
seqq.,  91  seqq.,  1 1 1 ;  mountain  sec- 
tion, 80  seqq.,  96,  107,  109,  144, 
149,  159;  eastern  feeders,  97;  gov- 
ernment loan  of  1884,  101  seqq.; 
government  loan  of  1885,  115 
seqq.;  completion  of  line,  131 ; 
first  through  train,  136;  express 
service,  137;  telegraph  system, 
139;  Parisian  politeness,  140; 
sleeping-cars,  141 ;  snowsheds,  144; 
steamships,  146,  209,  257,  354; 
settlement  of  Northwest,  150,  173, 
202,  204;  hotels,  99,  151,  198; 
Manitoba  and  the  monopoly 
clause,  152  seqq.;  bonding  privi- 
leges, 170;  first  round-the-world 
tour,  199;  financial  organization, 
218;  Crow's  Nest  Pass  line,  222; 
Van  Home  resigns  presidency, 

259- 
Canadian  Salt  Co.,  252. 


California,  visit  to,  261. 

Car-designing,  51,  141. 

Ceramics,  179,  266. 

Chateau  Frontenac,  The,  152,  198, 
262. 

Chicago  &  Alton  Ry.,  26,  47,  50 
seqq. 

Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Ry., 
53  seqq.,  137,  M9- 

Chinese    immigrants,    211. 

Circus,  visit  to,  333. 

Civil  War,  The,  25. 

Clark,    Geo.    M.,    164. 

Colonization:  in  Minnesota,  48;  in 
Canada,  150,  173,  202,  204;  in 
Cuba,  286,  314. 

Covenhoven,  265,  340. 

Craigellachie,   132. 

Crowfoot,  Chief,  94. 

Cuba:  American  occupation,  274, 
276  seqq.;  conditions  in  1900,  276; 
railway  law,  288,  292;  character- 
istics of  people,  284,  296,  304,  338  ; 
industrial  conditions,  299,  330;  in- 
surrection of  1906,  315;  preferen- 
tial tariffs  with  U.  S.,  299,  330. 

Cuba  Company,  The :  inception, 
278;  organization  and  sharehold- 
ers, 279  seqq.;  construction  of 
railroad,  284  seqq.;  colonization, 
286,  314;  festival  at  Camaguey 
294 ;  completion  of  railroad,  295 ; 
Camaguey  hotel,  302;  government 
loan,  303;  sugar-mills,  303,  314; 
branch  lines,  312  seqq.;  financial 
success,  365. 

Curtin,  Jeremiah,  373,  377. 


Dodge,   Gen.   Grenville,  279,  288. 
Dominion  Express  Co.,  138. 
Dominion  Steel  and  Coal  Cos.,  264, 

322. 

Drawing,  10,  15,  29,  38,  335. 
Drummond,   Sir  Geo.  A.,   191,   334. 
Duluth,    South    Shore    &    Atlantic 


386 


Index 


Ry.,  142,  170,   171,  220  seqq.,  252 
seqq. 

Duluth  &  Winnipeg  Ry.,  220,  224 
seqq.,  252  seqq. 

Earling,  A.  J.,  59. 
Easton,  Jason  C,  137,  148. 
Eaton,   Wyatt,  38,   370,   371. 
Edward,  Resemblance  to  King,  335. 
Egan,  John  M.,  59,  79. 
Elections,   190,  248,  345. 

Farming,   255,   266. 

Farquhar,  Percival,  278,  296. 

Flandreau,  59. 

Fleming,  Robert,  302,  303,  304,  331. 

Fleming,  Sir  Sandford,  66,  96. 

French,  Jimmy,  161,  184  seqq. 

Gardening,  63. 

Geology,  10,  12,  16,  22,  62,  178. 

Georgian  Bay  Canal,  331. 

Grand  Trunk  Ry.  Co.,  97,  98,   103 

seqq.,   113,   165,  206. 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Ry.,  298. 
Grasshoppers,   145. 
Great  Northern  Ry.,  221,  231,  233, 

236. 

Guatemala,   visit  to,   319. 
Guatemala  Ry.,  309,  317,  329. 

Harper's  Magazine,  38. 

Havana  street  railways,  274. 

Hayes,   President,   51. 

Hill,  James  J. :  St.  Paul  &  Pacific 
Ry.,  61,  68,  70 ;  C.  P.  Ry.  Syndi- 
cate, 61,  70  seqq.,  74,  78;  hostility 
to  C.  P.  Ry.,  loo,  224;  Soo  lines 
and  Duluth  &  Winnipeg  Ry.,  220 
seqq.,  252  seqq.,  260;  designs  on 
C.  P.  Ry.  territory,  320,  346,  348; 
Van  Home's  admiration  for,  357. 

Hitchcock's  "  Elements  of  Geology," 
16. 

Hopkins,  Geo.  B.,  51. 

Horticulture,  63. 

Hosmer,  C.  R.,  139. 

Hotel-building,  99,   151,   198,  302. 

Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  64,  65,  195. 

Humbug,  A  gospel  of,  357. 

Illinois  Central  Ry.,  18. 


Indians,  92. 

Intercolonial  Ry.,  143,  162,  209,  350. 

Ireland,  Archbishop,  49. 

Ito,  The  Marquis,  274. 

Japanese  pottery,  179,  266. 

Joliet,    11,    19,  353. 

Journalism,  Views  on,  243,  304,  338. 

Kicking  Horse  Pass,  80,  96. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  202,  372. 
Knighthood,   197,  233. 

Lacombe,  Father,  93  seqq. 

Land  settlement:  in  Minnesota,  48; 

in  Canada,  150,  173,  202,  204;  in 

Cuba,  286,  314. 

Land  taxation,  views   on,  286. 
Laurentide  Paper  Co.,  263,  298,  310, 

323. 

Laurier,  Sir  Wilfrid,  191,  249,  346. 
Lee,    Captain   Arthur,   248. 
Logan,  Verses  of  John  E.,  369. 
Luxton,  W.  F.,  243. 

Macdonald,  Sir  John  A.,  66,  68,  71, 
79,  102  seqq.,  116,  118,  119,  124, 
127,  190,  195. 

Mackenzie,  Hon.  Alex.,  68,  79,  132. 

"  Manitoba  Free   Press,"  242. 

Manitoba  and  the  monopoly  clause, 
152  seqq. 

Mclntyre,  Duncan,  71,  106,  120. 

McKinley,   President,  279,  285. 

Metropolitan  Parks  Commission, 
342. 

Michigan  Central  Ry.,  19. 

Mining,   263. 

Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  &  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  Ry.,  142,  170,  171,  220 
seqq.,  252  seqq. 

Mitchell,  John  J.,  32,  35,  39.  47,  54- 

Mountstephen,  Lord:  St.  Paul  & 
Pacific  Ry.,  70;  C.  P.  Ry.  syndi- 
cate, 70  seqq.,  78;  government 
loan  of  1884,  101  seqq.;  govern- 
ment loan  of  1885,  115,  118,  124 
seqq.;  share  in  building  C.  P. 
Ry.,  134;  baronetcy,  134;  Resigns 
presidency  of  C.  P.  Ry.,  162; 
Dominion  election  of  1891,  194; 
peerage,  197;  resignation  from 


Index 


387 


C.  P.  Ry.  directorate,  196,  213 
seqq.;  Grand  Trunk  Ry.,  206,  208; 
financial  organizer  of  C.  P.  Ry., 
218  seqq.;  'Soo  lines  and  Duluth 
&  Winnipeg  Ry.,  220  seqq.,  252 
seqq. 
Mushrooms,  265. 

Nietzsche,  Imitation  of,  357. 
Northern  Pacific  Ry.,  101,  154,  231, 
233. 

Ogden,  I.  G.,  89,  164. 

Ontario  &  Quebec  Ry.,  97,  103,  142. 

Painting,   179,  269,   340. 

Paintings,    Collection    of,    180,    266, 

335,  353,  363. 

Palaeontology,  10,  12,  16,  22,  62,  178. 
Peterson,  Letter  to  Sir  William,  355. 
Philippines,  The,  306  seqq. 
Politics,  190,  249,  273,  327,  345  seqq. 
Pottery,  179,  266. 
Pulpwood,  Export  of,  323. 

Quesada,  Gonzalo  de,  274,  339. 

"  Railway  Builders,  The,"  66. 
Railway  law,  56,  288,  292. 
Railway  operating,  35  seqq.,  43,  49, 

50,  56  seqq.,  218,  282,  376. 
Raymond,  A.  C,  171. 
Reciprocity     between     U.     S.     and 

Canada,    191,  345. 
Riel  rebellion,  121  seqq. 
Rogers   Pass,   80. 
Roosevelt,  President,  316. 
Root,  Hon.  Elihu,  277,  306. 
Ryan,  T.  K,  282. 


St.   Andrews,   264. 

St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  &  Northern 

Ry.,  35  seqq. 
St.   Paul,   Minneapolis  &  Manitoba 

Ry.,  61,  78. 

St.  Paul  &  Pacific  Ry.,  61,  68,  100. 
San   Zenon,   340. 
Sardine  Company,  340. 
Schreiber,  Sir  Collingwood,  107,  121, 

337- 

Secretan,  J.  H.   E.,  77. 
Selkirk  Farm,  266. 


Shaughnessy,  Lord,  58,  82,  84,  127, 

130,  164,  260,  298. 

"  Silver  Heights,"  134. 

Skelton,  Oscar  D.,  66,  157. 

Sleeping-cars,  51,   141. 

Smith,  Donald  A.,  see  Lord  Strath- 
cona. 

Smith,  Sir  Frank,  151. 

Soo  lines,  142,  170,  171,  220  seqq., 
252  seqq. 

Snowsheds,    144. 

Snow  wave-forms,  374. 

Southern  Minnesota  Ry.,  39  seqq. 

Steamships,  146,  209,  257,  354. 

Stephen,  George,  see  Lord  Mount- 
Stephen. 

Stockbreeding,  265,  324. 

Strathcona,  Lord,  69,  106,  115,  118, 

131,  134,    135- 

Taft,   Hon.   W.   H.,   307,   315,  3i6, 

345- 

Tait,   Sir  Thomas,  82. 
Telegraphy,  15,  18,  19,  28. 
Thompson,  Sir  John,  174,  211. 
Town-planning,    247,    342. 
Tupper,  Sir  Charles,  102,  105,  190. 
Tyler,  Sir  Henry,  71,  165,  206. 

Underwood,  F.  D.,  55,  376. 

Vancouver,   107,    146. 

Van  Home,  Adaline  (daughter),  32, 
177,  265. 

Van  Home,  Cornelius  C.  (father), 
8  seqq. 

Van  Home,  Lucy  Adaline,  Lady,  30, 
38. 

Van  Home,  Mary  Minier  (mother), 
9,  11,  14,  177. 

Van  Home,  Mary  (sister),  31,  311. 

Van  Home  mountains,   145. 

Van  Home,  Richard  Benedick 
(son),  62,  333. 

Van  Home,  Sir  William  C. :  an- 
cestry, 3  seqq.,  178,  355 ;  birth  and 
early  childhood,  10;  death  of 
father,  12;  schooldays,  n,  14,  16; 
Crystal  Palace  panorama,  15 ; 
telegraphy,  15,  18,  19,  28;  first 
post,  18;  Michigan  Central  Ry., 
19  seqq.;  cultivating  memory,  20; 
enlistment,  25;  Chicago  &  Alton 


388 


Index 


Ry.,  26  seqq.;  train-dispatcher  at 
Bloom ington,  28;  marriage,  30; 
home  life,  31;  superintendent  of 
telegraphers,  32;  birth  of  daugh- 
ter, 32;  moves  to  Alton,  32;  divi- 
sional superintendent,  32;  moves 
to  Chicago,  33;  birth  of  first  son, 
33;  moves  to  St.  Louis,  34;  gen- 
eral superintendent  St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City  &  Northern  Ry.,  35 
seqq.;  nursing  his  wife,  39;  presi- 
dent Southern  Minnesota  Ry.,  39 
seqq.;  moves  to  La  Crosse,  40; 
general  superintendent  Chicago  & 
Alton  Ry.,  48  seqq.;  moves  to 
Chicago,  50;  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  Ry.,  54  seqq.;  meets 
J.  J.  Hill,  61 ;  birth  of  second  son, 
62;  general  manager,  C.  P.  Ry., 
74  seqq.;  moves  to  Winnipeg,  76; 
first  meeting  with  George  Stephen, 
78;  moves  family  to  Montreal, 
90;  offered  presidency  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Ry.,  137, 
148;  president  C.  P.  Ry.,  162; 
death  of  mother,  177;  knighthood, 
197,  233;  resigns  presidency 
C.  P.  Ry.,  260;  visit  to  California, 
261 ;  first  visit  to  Cuba,  275  seqq.; 
organizes  Cuba  Co.,  278  seqq.; 
death  of  sister,  311;  visit  to 
Guatemala,  319;  birth  of  grand- 
son, 333;  mistaken  for  King  Ed- 
ward, 335;  resigns  chairmanship 
C.  P.  Ry.,  336;  festival  at  Joliet, 
353;  illness,  358  seqq.,  367  seqq.; 
death,  368;  private  business  in- 
terests, 262  seqq.,  274,  297,  310, 


323,  332,  336,  340;  visits  to  Eu- 
rope, 178,  239,  267,  334,  362,  375. 
Personal  characteristics:  physique, 
38,  370;  powers  of  endurance,  37, 
85,  108,  272,  371;  driving  force, 
74,  87,  in;  appetite  for  food,  22, 
45,  272,  372;  physical  courage, 
no;  fighting  qualities,  14,  37,  157, 
224,  229,  254  seqq.,  322;  love  of 
work,  20,  33,  83,  177,  280,  297, 
30O,  339,  354;  love  of  games  and 
tricks,  85,  181;  practical  joking, 
18,  26,  38,  135,  143,  160,  182,  183, 
270,  375,  382;  love  of  children, 
333J  purity  of  life,  376;  optimism, 
107,  120,  238,  241 ;  a  prodigious 
memory,  181 ;  powers  of  conversa- 
tion, 372;  exaggeration,  373,  382; 
public-speaking,  348,  376.  Views: 
on  art,  268  seqq.;  capital  and 
labour,  326;  humbug,  357; 
journalism,  243,  304,  338;  novels, 
360;  politics,  190,  249,  273,  327, 
345  seqq.;  reciprocity,  191,  345; 
religion,  378;  taxation  of  land, 
286;  war,  364. 

Van  Home,  William  C.  C.  (grand- 
son), 333. 

War,  Views  on,  364. 
Ward,  Mrs.  Humphry,  335. 
Wickenden,  R.  J.,  270,  371. 
Whyte,  Sir  William,  157,  195. 
Windsor  Salt  Works,  252. 
Winnipeg,  68,  76,  85,  89,  112,  154. 
Wood,  Gen.  Leonard,  276,  288,  289, 

291. 
Woodcock,  Percy,  179. 


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